Jobless down - but more part-timers

Mixed signals emerged from the jobs market today as unemployment fell by 24,000 but those forced to take part-time work hit a record high and a north-south jobs divide widened.

The number of unemployed dropped to 2.49 million in the three months to July, helping nudge the jobless rate to 7.7% from 7.8%, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
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