Jobless rate at 20-year low

Unemployment was once again down on the two official counts, according to the latest government figures.

Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count, the government's preferred measure, it fell by 33,000 to 1.43 million in the three months to February compared with the previous three months. The LFS count includes people not eligible for benefits.

The rate of unemployment was steady at 4.8% - the lowest rate since records began in 1984. There were 844,000 unemployed men (a 5.2% rate) and 582,000 unemployed women (a 4.3% rate).

The claimant count measure of unemployment, which only takes in those actually drawing benefit, showed its 10th consecutive monthly fall, dropping by 4,200 to 882,200 in March.

The rate using this measure was steady at 2.9% - the lowest since June 1975.

However, manufacturing employment continues to shrink. It was down by 102,000 on a year ago to stand at 3.4 million in February.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The job market as a whole remains strong but UK economic growth depends on a genuine manufacturing recovery. The sector is not yet in a position to be counting chickens."

He added: "It is imperative that manufacturers use their strong economic circumstances to increase investment to secure growth."