Joblessness falls — as do earnings
Unemployment, under the Labour Force Survey count, fell by 161,000 to 2.17 million in the three-month period ending April compared with the previous quarter. The unemployment rate was down to 6.6% from 7.2%.
The number of unemployed men was down by 80,000 to 1.21 million and their unemployment rate fell to 6.9% from 7.4%.
The number of unemployed women was down by 81,000 to 955,000, dropping under the one million barrier. Their unemployment rate fell to 6.3% from 6.9%.
On the other main jobless measure — the claimant count which only includes those on Jobseeker’s Allowance — unemployment was down by 27,400 to 1.09 million in May.
Male claimant numbers were down by 18,900 on the previous month to 693,500, and the joblessness rate was down to 3.9% from 4.0%. Women claimant numbers fell by 8,500 to 392,500 with the joblessness rate down to 2.5% from 2.6%.
There was less good news on the official average weekly earnings data for the whole economy which showed a nosedive. The annual percentage change for April was -1.7% against a revised figure of a 2.2% rise for March.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said it was “hugely worrying that workers are still not getting the decent pay rises they need to get by”.