Unemployment below one million

The government claimed the UK is on the road to full employment after the number of people claiming benefit in February dipped below one million for the first time in over 25 years.

The claimant count fell to 996,200 in February, the lowest total since December 1975.

Nevertheless, at a press conference to mark the occasion, prime minister Tony Blair unveiled plans to crack down on people who refuse to take up a training or job placement.

Under a new phase of the flagship New Deal, older people will have their benefits stopped if they refuse to join the programme. Blair said he wanted to target the "hardcore" unemployed to help even more people into work.

The International Labour Organisation unemployment figure, which includes people not eligible for benefit, fell by 81,000 in the three months to January to 1,535,000, a jobless rate of 5.2%.

The number of vacancies at job centres has risen to a historically high level of 233,700 and the claimant count fell by 10,600 last month giving a jobless rate of 3.4%.

TUC general secretary John Monks said: "This is a significant milepost in the return to full employment and the government deserves much of the credit...However, major challenges still remain."