Unemployment figure down by 35,000

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Employment increased by 93,000 in the three months to May to 29.08 million, the biggest total since records began in 1971, and a rise of 180,000 over the past year.

Unemployment fell by 35,000 over the same quarter to 1.66 million, the lowest for over a year, giving a jobless rate of 5.4%.

The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance was 13,800 down in June at 864,100, the 11th monthly fall in the past year.

The Office for National Statistics also reported that average earnings increased by 3.5% in the year to May, down by 0.6% from the previous month.

Wage growth was 3.6% in private firms, down by 0.7%, while in the public sector pay increased by 3% in the latest period, down by 0.1%.

The number of manufacturing jobs continued to fall, down to a record low of 2.96 million in the three months to May after a cut of 46,000 compared with a year ago.

The number of people classed as economically inactive, including students, those looking after a sick relative or people who have given up trying to get a job, fell by 1,000 in the latest quarter to 7.93 million. The figure was 85,000 higher than a year ago and represents more than a fifth of the working population.

There were 111,000 working days lost through industrial disputes in May, the second highest monthly figure in the past year.

Job vacancies in the whole economy increased by 5,100 in the three months to June to 641,900, while the number of people being made redundant in the quarter to May fell by 23,000 to 123,000, the lowest figure since records began in 1995.