UK unemployment fall raises hopes recession-hit economy on mend:
Number of jobless people falls to 2.63 million, the lowest since last summer, official figures from the ONS show
Unemployment declined by 45,000 in the three months to March, raising hopes that Britain's recession-hit economy is on the mend.
The total number of jobless fell to 2.63 million, according to the Office for National Statistics, its lowest level since last summer. That brought the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2012 down to 8.2%, from 8.4% in the last three months of 2011.
Employment minister Chris Grayling seized on the news as a "step in the right direction".
The ONS said the more timely claimant count, which measures the number of people receiving jobseekers' allowance, had also fallen, by 13,700 in April, to 1.59 million.
The news was welcomed by the coalition, which has faced sharp criticism over its handling of the economy since it was confirmed that the UK has slipped into a double-dip recession.
"I know I never place too much store on a single month's figures because these numbers go up and down and we are clearly living in difficult times economically, but any improvement in the labour market is very welcome," Grayling said.
However, there were still clear signs of strains in the labour market, with the number of people working part-time because they are unable to find a full-time role hitting a record high of 1.4 million.
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "That there are 2.63 million people without jobs shows the extent to which the government's gamble with the economy has failed. So instead of borrowing to support the economy and to continue the recovery the government has had to borrow to fund the recession."
The squeeze on household spending power has also continued for those who have managed to stay in work, with average pay excluding bonuses increasing at an annual rate of 2% – much weaker than the 3.5% rate of inflation.
The ONS said that bonuses had been lower in the first three months of 2012 than last year, "particularly within the finance and business services and manufacturing sectors," pushing annual pay growth across the economy including bonuses to just 0.6%.
Youth unemployment also declined, according to the ONS: there were 1.02 million 16 to 24-year-olds looking for work in the three months to March, down by 17,000 on the previous quarter. However, the unemployment rate for this age-group was still 21.9%, more than two-and-a-half times higher than for the workforce as a whole.
Alan Clarke, of Scotia Capital, said the improvement in the jobs numbers pointed to a strengthening in the overall economic outlook. "The labour data suggests that the recovery is ticking over quite nicely, though it would be foolhardy to get complacent given that the risks facing the economy are skewed to the downside."
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Number of jobless people falls to 2.63 million, the lowest since last summer, official figures from the ONS show
Unemployment declined by 45,000 in the three months to March, raising hopes that Britain's recession-hit economy is on the mend.
The total number of jobless fell to 2.63 million, according to the Office for National Statistics, its lowest level since last summer. That brought the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2012 down to 8.2%, from 8.4% in the last three months of 2011.
Employment minister Chris Grayling seized on the news as a "step in the right direction".
The ONS said the more timely claimant count, which measures the number of people receiving jobseekers' allowance, had also fallen, by 13,700 in April, to 1.59 million.
The news was welcomed by the coalition, which has faced sharp criticism over its handling of the economy since it was confirmed that the UK has slipped into a double-dip recession.
"I know I never place too much store on a single month's figures because these numbers go up and down and we are clearly living in difficult times economically, but any improvement in the labour market is very welcome," Grayling said.
However, there were still clear signs of strains in the labour market, with the number of people working part-time because they are unable to find a full-time role hitting a record high of 1.4 million.
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "That there are 2.63 million people without jobs shows the extent to which the government's gamble with the economy has failed. So instead of borrowing to support the economy and to continue the recovery the government has had to borrow to fund the recession."
The squeeze on household spending power has also continued for those who have managed to stay in work, with average pay excluding bonuses increasing at an annual rate of 2% – much weaker than the 3.5% rate of inflation.
The ONS said that bonuses had been lower in the first three months of 2012 than last year, "particularly within the finance and business services and manufacturing sectors," pushing annual pay growth across the economy including bonuses to just 0.6%.
Youth unemployment also declined, according to the ONS: there were 1.02 million 16 to 24-year-olds looking for work in the three months to March, down by 17,000 on the previous quarter. However, the unemployment rate for this age-group was still 21.9%, more than two-and-a-half times higher than for the workforce as a whole.
Alan Clarke, of Scotia Capital, said the improvement in the jobs numbers pointed to a strengthening in the overall economic outlook. "The labour data suggests that the recovery is ticking over quite nicely, though it would be foolhardy to get complacent given that the risks facing the economy are skewed to the downside."
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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