Record numbers in work as jobless total falls to seven year low

The Government has been given a pre-Christmas boost on the jobs front after new figures showed record numbers in work and unemployment falling to a seven-year low.

More than 31 million people are in work, the highest since comparable records began in 1971, giving an employment rate of almost 74%.

Unemployment fell by 110,000 in the quarter to October to 1.7 million, the lowest since the spring of 2008.%VIRTUAL-ArticleSidebar-Christmas%

The claimant count - those on jobseeker's allowance and the out of work element of Universal Credit - increased by 3,900 last month to 796,200, today's data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

Total hours worked per week topped one billion in the latest quarter, the first time it has passed this mark.

ONS statistician David Freeman said: "This results from the number of people in work continuing to increase, as average weekly hours per person are fairly stable.

"Earnings continue to grow in real terms, although at a slower rate than we have seen in recent months."

Average earnings increased by 2.4% in the year to October, 0.6% down on the previous month.

Unemployment has fallen by almost a quarter of a million over the past year, giving a jobless rate of 5.2%, the lowest since the start of 2006.

The number of people classed as economically inactive, including people looking after a relative, on long-term sick leave or given up looking for work, fell by 63,000 in the latest three months, to 8.9 million, giving a rate of 21.9%, the lowest since 1990.

Other figures showed that public sector employment was 5.3 million in September, 12,000 lower than in June, and the lowest total since current records began in 1999.

Private sector employment increased by 219,000 to a record of almost 26 million.

The number of people working part-time who want full-time jobs increased by 12,000 to 1.28 million, but was down by 32,000 compared with a year ago.

Employment minister Priti Patel said: "We are ending the year on a high, with a record rate of employment and wages continuing to grow.

"Today's figures show half a million more people in work compared to this time last year, which means hundreds of thousands of families are going into the festive season with the security and hope for the future that work brings.

"Next year we will build on this positive story with the introduction of the national living wage and the new offer of 30 hours free childcare for working families.

"In this way we are delivering the high-wage, low-welfare society with opportunity and security at its heart that we know the British people want."