Jobless falls again

The number of people out of work and claiming benefit was 1,035,300 in September - a 16,400 decrease from August. The rate of unemployment remains at 3.6% - its lowest since 1975.

However, the Industrial Society warns that official figures "understate the true extent of local joblessness", and government employment policies "are not tackling persistent local job gaps".

Inflation creeps up but stays below target

The headline rate of inflation rose to 3.3% in September from 3.0% in August, according to National Statistics.

Housing costs showed an annual rise of 10.3%, which included a 31% rise in the cost of mortgages. And the 3.3% rise in motoring costs included a 12% rise in petrol prices.

The prices of household goods also rose as the summer sales ended. However, National Statistics expects that these price rises will be reversed in October with the start of the mid-season sales.

The government's preferred measure of inflation - the underlying rate - excludes mortgage costs. This rate, which is closely monitored by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) - rose to 2.2%, its highest since April 1999. However, it is still comfortably below the 2.5% target the government has set for the MPC in its deliberations on interest rates.