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UK unemployment falls below 2 million | UK unemployment falls below 2 million |
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UK unemployment fell by 154,000 in the three months to the end of August to 1.97 million, official figures show. | UK unemployment fell by 154,000 in the three months to the end of August to 1.97 million, official figures show. |
The drop took the unemployment rate to 6%, its lowest level since late 2008, the Office for National Statistics said. | |
Over the year, the number of unemployed people fell by 538,000, the largest annual fall since records began. | |
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in September fell by 18,600 to 951,900. | The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in September fell by 18,600 to 951,900. |
The drop marks the 23rd consecutive monthly reduction. | |
Excluding bonuses, average weekly earnings in the June-to-August period rose by 0.9% from a year earlier. Including bonuses, earnings rose by 0.7%. | |
However, earnings remain below the rate of inflation, currently 1.2%. | |
In total, there are now a record 30.76 million people in work. | |
However, the number of people classed as economically inactive, including students, long-term sick and those retiring early, increased by 113,000 in the quarter to more than nine million. | |
The number of self-employed people dropped by 76,000 in the latest three-month period to 4.5 million, but the total is 279,000 higher than a year ago. | |
And the number of employees in part-time jobs has reached a record high of 6.8 million. | |
Youth unemployment - covering 16-to-24-year-olds - fell by 88,000 over the quarter to 733,000, giving a jobless rate among the age group of 16%. | |
Employment minister Esther McVey said: "Today's record figures show that the government's long-term economic plan to help businesses create jobs and get people working again is proving successful." | |
Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves tweeted that the jobs figures showed a "welcome fall in unemployment". | |
"But wages still well behind inflation. The pay squeeze on working people continues," she added. | |
Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "Britain is fast becoming the job creation capital of the Western economies. Because our recovery plan is working, so is the country and in record numbers." |