Jobless at lowest level for a year

Unemployment was at its lowest level since July last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Under the Labour Force survey count, unemployment fell by 46,000 in the three months to June to 2.56 million. It was last lower in three months to July 2011.

The number of jobless men fell to 1.46 million, while the number of unemployed women fell to 1.1 million.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.0% from 8.2% in the previous three-month period. The male unemployment rate fell to 8.5% from 8.7% and the female rate was down to 7.5% from 7.6%.

The unions are not impressed. Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB general union, said “These figures show the waste of human talent in an economy going through this double-dip recession.

“Cameron and Clegg should now conclude that Osborne is simply not up to the job of steering our economy and he should be moved to make way for a change of direction as he has proved beyond doubt that it is not possible to deflate your way to growth.”

The claimant count, which only includes people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, fell by 6,100 in July to 1.59 million.

The overall jobless rate of claimants was unchanged at 4.9%. The male jobless rate was down to 6.0%, but the female rate was unchanged at 3.5%.