Latest employment figures

The Office for National Statistics said today that the number of jobless - people not in work but seeking a job - fell 59,000 to 1.42 million during the three month period from July to September.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3% - its lowest rate since 1975 - and down from 4.8% a year earlier.

Minister for Employment Damian Hinds said the unemployment figures showed the "strength of the economy".

"A near-record number of people are now in work," he said. "Everyone should be given the opportunity to find work and enjoy the stability of a regular pay packet."

There was a small fall in the number of people in work to 32 million, down 14,000 from the last quarter, according to ONS data. Matt Hughes, a senior ONS statistician, said employment had declined after two years of "almost uninterrupted growth", but was still higher than last year.

The simultaneous drop in the number of workers and unemployed people is due to the rise in people who are classed as "economically inactive" - those not working and not seeking or available to work.
This includes people studying, retirees, the long-term sick, or those looking after family, and rose by 117,000 to 8.8 million over the quarter.

Mr Hughes said: "There was a rise in the number of people who were neither working nor looking for a job - so-called economically inactive people."

 Separate ONS data showed a bright spot for productivity, which increased by 0.9% in the latest three months - the strongest growth rate for six years.

 Today’s employment figures show that
  • the number of people in employment has increased by more than 3 million since 2010
  • the UK has the third highest employment rate in the G7
  • the number of workers aged 50+ has almost reached 10 million – a record level
  • youth unemployment has fallen by over 40% since 2010
  • there are a near record 780,000 vacancies in the economy at any one time
  • the proportion of young people who are unemployed and not in full time education remains below 5%

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