Unemployment in the UK has fallen to its lowest rate since the financial crisis of 2008, official figures show.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people without paid employment fell by 76,000 during December, January and February, to 1.84 million. This puts the unemployment rate at 5.6 per cent, 1.3 per cent lower than in March 2014 and 7.9 per cent lower than in May 2010, when the Coalition government took power. The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance dropped by 20,700 during March of this year, to 772,400, the ONS revealed.
A senior economist at Capital Economics, Samuel Tombs, said that he expects unemployment figures to continue to drop over the coming months.
The strong unemployment figures helped to strengthen the pound against the dollar, with sterling reaching its highest rate in four weeks.
The number of people in work increased to 31.05 million, a rise of 248,000 in a three month period and the biggest such rise of the last twelve months. The number of unemployed young people aged between 16 and 24 fell to 742,000, a drop of 22,000 during the three months to February. Long term unemployment is also down by 188,000.
Unemployment is currently lowest in the south east of England, at 4.2 per cent and highest in the North East, where it is 7.7 per cent.
Average weekly earnings also increased by 1.8 per cent over the last twelve month period, although they dropped by a percentage point between January and February. Chief economist at Markit, Chris Williamson, said that the upturn in real wages is a significant factor in the UK’s recent economic recovery. Consumer spending is up but there are uncertainties about how long this can last.
