UK / Unemployment rate falls to 7.1%

The unemployment rate in the UK has fallen sharply to 7.1 per cent of the workforce, taking it close to the target under the Bank of England’s much-criticised forward guidance policy.

The jobless rate fell by 0.3 percentage points in the three months to November compared with the period from August to October, the Office for National Statistics said. City economists had expected a smaller fall of 0.1 points.

The strong set of labour market data underlined the pace of economic recovery, as unemployment fell by 167,000 to 2.32m compared with the previous quarter, the largest fall since 1997 and the lowest level since April 2009.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via UK unemployment rate falls to 7.1% – FT.com.

The NSO’s Official Report

For September to November 2013:

• The percentage of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work (the employment rate) was 72.1%. The employment rate is up 0.5 percentage points from June to August 2013 and up 0.7 from a year earlier. There were 30.15 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 280,000 from June to August 2013 and up 450,000 from a year earlier.
• The percentage of the economically active population aged 16 and over who were unemployed (the unemployment rate) was 7.1%. The unemployment rate is down 0.5 percentage points from June to August 2013 and down 0.6 from a year earlier. There were 2.32 million unemployed people aged 16 and over, down 167,000 from June to August 2013 and down 172,000 from a year earlier.
• The percentage of people aged from 16 to 64 who were economically inactive (the economic inactivity rate) was 22.2%. The inactivity rate is down 0.1 percentage points from June to August 2013 and down 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier. There were 8.93 million economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64, down 22,000 from June to August 2013 and down 75,000 from a year earlier.
• Total pay and regular pay both rose by 0.9% compared with September to November 2012.

Young people in the labour market

For September to November 2013:
• There were 3.68 million 16 to 24 year olds in employment (22% of whom were in full-time
education), up 77,000 from June to August 2013.
• There were 2.61 million economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds (75% of whom were in full-time
education), down 46,000 from June to August 2013.
• There were 920,000 unemployed 16 to 24 year olds (31% of whom were in full-time education),
down 39,000 from June to August 2013.
The unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 20.0% for September to November 2013, down
1.0 percentage points from June to August 2013.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Labour Market Statistics, January 2014 – ONS.