11/09/2013

UK Unemployment Rate Falls To 7.7%

The UK's unemployment rate has fallen to 7.7% for the first time since late 2012, according to official statistics.

The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), revealed that in the three months to July, the unemployment rate fell from 7.8%, with the number of people out of work dropping by 24,000 to 2.487 million.

The ONS added that this was the lowest jobless rate since the September to November period last year. The data is viewed as significant following the Bank of England's pledge last month to keep the base rate of interest at a record low as long as the unemployment rate remained above 7%.

Elsewhere, the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 32,600 in August – the largest drop since June 1997, while the number of people working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job increased to 1.45 million - the highest since records began in 1992, with the ONS saying the figure had doubled over the past five years.

There is still a squeeze on household incomes, with the ONS highlighting a 1.1% increase in average weekly earnings between May and July versus a year earlier. This continues to lag inflation which is at 2.8%.

(JP/CD)

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