Redundancies hit record low

Unemployment has fallen under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count - it was down by 35,000 to 1.66 million in the three months to May compared with the previous quarter.

The LFS count is the government's preferred measure and includes people not eligible for benefits. The unemployment rate fell to 5.4%. There were 955,000 unemployed men under the count - a 5.7% rate - and 705,000 women - a 5.0% rate.

Unemployment was also down under the claimant count, which only includes those drawing Jobseeker's Allowance. It fell for the ninth successive month to stand at 864,100 in June - a 13,800 fall on the revised figure for May.

The unemployment rate under this count was steady at 2.7%. The number of unemployed men on benefit was down to 629,300 - 3.6% - and the number of unemployed women was down to 234,800 - 1.6%.

Redundancies were also down. In the three months to May 2007, 123,000 people were made redundant down 23,000 from the previous three months and down 22,000 on the year. This is the lowest figure since comparable records began in 1995.

Meanwhile, general union Unite has launched its "Manufacturing Matters" campaign calling for stronger government support. It will include a rally on 17 October (see this month's news section).