Unemployment rate drops

Unemployment, under the Labour Force Survey count, fell by 77,000 to 2.24 million in the three-month period ending February on the previous quarter. The unemployment rate was down to 6.9% from 7.1%

The number of unemployed men was down by 53,000 to 1.26 million and their unemployment rate fell to 7.2% from 7.5%. The number of unemployed women was down by 24,000 to 982,000 and their unemployment rate fell to 6.5% from 6.7%.

On the other main jobless measure — the claimant count which only includes those people on Jobseeker’s Allowance — unemployment was down by 30,400 to 1.14 million in March.

Male claimant numbers were down by 21,000 on the previous month to 732,800, and their joblessness rate was down to 4.1% from 4.2%. Female claimant numbers fell by 9,400 to 409,200 and their joblessness rate was down to 2.6% from 2.7%.

Other data shows that the employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 72.6% in the three-month period to February. This is still lower than the pre-downturn peak of 73.0%.

The total number employed — 30.4 million — was up by 239,000 on the previous three months. But there was a 24,000 rise in the number of temporary workers and a 92,000 rise in those working part-time.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_357545.pdf