The number of people unemployed in the UK fell by 125,000 to 2.34 million in the three months to December 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The unemployment rate now stands at 7.2 per cent, but the ONS cautioned that the pace of unemployment could be slowing, as the three-monthly rate, which the ONS says gives a more accurate picture than just relying on one’s month’s figures, has fallen from 7.6 per cent in the three months to the end of September 2013. The figure of 7.1 per cent given for the end of January this year was just a picture of that month’s figures.
Overall employment now stands at more than 30 million, a rate of 72.1 per cent, which is an increase of 0.6 per cent on this time last year, and the number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance fell by 27,600 last month, to 1.22 million, its 15th consecutive monthly fall.
In addition, youth unemployment has fallen to the lowest level since the spring of 2011, to just over 900,000 and long-term unemployment has come down as well. However, there has been little change in the number of people classed as ‘economically inactive’, which remains at just under nine million, although the number of self-employed workers increased by 172,000 to 4.37 million.
The number of people out of work for longer than a year fell by 45,000 to 845,000, while 451,000 have been unemployed for over two years, down by 7,000 and job vacancies were up by 28,000 to 580,000, the highest since 2008.
Meanwhile, more women are in work than at any time since records began, at just over 14 million. Average earnings have also increased, by 1.1 per cent in the year to December, easing the wage squeeze slightly.