Jobless are down on both counts

There was good news on the unemployment front in the latest official figures.

Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count, unemployment fell by 33,000 to 2.45 million in the three months to January compared with the previous three months. The jobless rate fell to 7.8%.

The number of unemployed men was down by 20,000 to 1.51 million, but their unemployment rate remained at 9.0%. The number of jobless women fell by 13,000 to 938,000 and their unemployment rate was down to 6.5% from 6.6% previously.

The LFS count — the government’s preferred measure — includes people who are looking for work but are not eligible for benefits.

The claimant count, which only includes those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), posted a sharp drop. It fell by 32,300 to 1.59 million in February, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.9% from 5.0%.

Unemployed men on benefit fell to 1.15 million and their unemployment rate was down to 6.6%. The number of women claiming JSA was down to 431,600 but their jobless rate remained at 3.0%.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the fall in dole claimants was great news for “people across the UK desperate to get back into work”. But he urged the government not to throw away the recovery with early public spending cuts.