BBC News - UK unemployment rate falls to five-year low

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ShareFacebookTwitterUK unemployment rate falls to five-year low It was the
largest quarterly increase in employment since records began in 1971
Continue reading the main story
UK EconomyWages growth outpacing inflation
UK unemployment figures explained
Four steps to getting a job
How to write a successful CV
The number of people out of work in the UK fell by 133,000 to a fresh five-year
low of 2.2 million in the three months to March, official figures show.
The jobless rate also fell to a five-year low of 6.8%, the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) said.
The number of people in work rose to 30.43 million, the highest since records
began in 1971, helped by a rise in self-employment.
Average earnings in the three months to March were up 1.7% from a year earlier.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis

Hugh Pym

Chief economics correspondent, BBC News

The jobs market continues to grow much more rapidly than most people expected.
The 2.2 million jobless total is the lowest since early 2009. So, too, the youth

unemployment figure.
The number of vacancies in the economy is at its highest since the spring of
2008, before the full effects of the recession had taken hold.
The fact that self-employment accounted for 183,000 of the 283,000 of the
increase in total employment over the latest quarter has raised eyebrows.
The majority of these were full-time, but questions can be asked about how many
of this number were working for themselves by necessity after losing a job
elsewhere.
A rise in self-employment could also point to a more entrepreneurial spirit,
which will reap dividends in later years.
The growth rate in wages - which includes bonuses - was unchanged from the
previous month and was slower than analysts had expected.
However, with the inflation rate at 1.6% in March - as measured by the Consumer
Prices Index (CPI) - it means earnings rose faster than inflation for the first
time since 2010.
Excluding bonuses, earnings grew by 1.3% in the three months to March when
compared with a year earlier.
Youth unemployment down

In all, 283,000 more people found work in the three-month period, which was the
largest quarterly increase since records began in 1971.
The number of people working for themselves reached a record high of 4.55
million, with self-employment jumping by 183,000 in the quarter to March,
compared with a rise of 375,000 over the past year.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in April fell by 25,100 to
1.12 million.
And the number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 48,000 to 868,000 - the
lowest figure for five years.
Continue reading the main story Jobless total
Unemployment and Jobseeker's Allowance in the UK
1992-2014929394959697989900010203040506070809101112131400.51.01.52.02.53.03.5Num
ber,
millionsUnemployment (16+)
March 2.21mJobseeker's Allowance (18+)
April 1.12mSource: ONS
"As the recovery takes hold, more people are able to get a job or set up their
own business and become the employers of tomorrow," said Minister for Employment

Esther McVey.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "There's more to do, but it's welcome
unemployment is down again. More jobs means more financial security for people."
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said that

the UK labour market was continuing to strengthen.
"The figures continue to demonstrate the flexibility and resilience of the jobs
market, which is a source of strength for the economy."
However, Jeremy Cook, chief economist at the currency company, World First, said

the fact that average earnings were unchanged was disappointing.
"[This] outweighs any positive sentiment coming from the fall in the overall
rate of unemployment to 6.8%," he said.
BNP Paribas UK economist David Tinsley added that the rise in employment was
"disproportionately a self-employment story".
"The rise in people working as full-time employees is significantly less, at
0.3% on the quarter," he said.
The figures are "hugely politically charged", the BBC's Norman Smith says "The
proportion of people working part-time because they can't find a full-time job
is now falling, but remains relatively high."
The number of people in full-time work rose 0.3% to reach 18.9 million, as
opposed to 6.7 million in part-time work, a rise of 0.6% in the quarter.
During Prime Minister's questions in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Cameron said
that the number of people in full-time employment had risen.
"We are growing the economy and we've got more people in work," Mr Cameron said.
Mr Cameron added that increasing the number of apprenticeships was "an
absolutely vital part of our long-term economic plan".
However, the Labour party said that hundreds of thousands of young people
remained unemployed.
"While this fall in overall unemployment is welcome, today's figures show that
young people and the long-term unemployed are being left behind," said Labour's
shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves.
"Under David Cameron, over 850,000 young people are unemployed and there are
still over 100,000 more people out of work for two years or more than in 2010,"
she added.More on This Story
UK Economy Unemployment
Wages growth outpacing inflation UK unemployment figures explained Four steps
to getting a job How to write a successful CV Economy tracker: Unemployment
Where to find help for financial problems Calculate your inflation rate
Economy tracker: Inflation What is inflation? Economy tracker: GDP Debt and
deficit explained GDP explained Retail sales figures explained What is
quantitative easing? Forward Guidance
What is 'forward guidance'?
The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has overhauled his policy of
"forward guidance" - but what is it?
Carney adjusts interest rates policy How the Bank's policy affects you
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