Unemployment continues to fall

UK unemployment showed a welcome fall, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

Under the Labour Force survey count, the number of jobless fell by 65,000 in the three months to May to 2.58 million.

The fall in numbers was divided fairly equally between the sexes. The number of jobless men fell by 34,000 to 1.48 million, while the number of unemployed women fell by 32,000 to 1.1 million.

The national unemployment rate fell from 8.3% to 8.1%. Meanwhile, male unemployment was down to 8.6% from 8.8% and the female rate was down to 7.5% from 7.7%.

A TUC analysis of the unemployment figures released just before the latest data were published highlighted the rise in the number of long-term unemployed. And the latest ONS figures provided no comfort, with a 3,000 rise in those out of work for over a year to 885,000, and almost half of this figure or 441,000 have been jobless for over two years.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned of a growing number “being left behind” from long periods out of work.

The claimant count, which only includes people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), rose in June by 6,100 to stand at just over 1.6 million. The overall jobless rate of claimants was unchanged at 4.9%.