Job Report in UK, March to May 2017 – The unemployment rate at 4.5%, the lowest since 1975

• The unemployment rate (the proportion of those in work plus those unemployed, that were unemployed) was 4.5%, down from 4.9% for a year earlier and the lowest since 1975.
• Estimates from the Labour Force Survey show that, between December 2016 to February 2017 and March to May 2017, the number of people in work increased, the number of unemployed people fell, and the number of people aged from 16 to 64 not working and not seeking or available to work (economically inactive) also fell.
• There were 32.01 million people in work, 175,000 more than for December 2016 to February 2017 and 324,000 more than for a year earlier.
• The employment rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work) was 74.9%, the highest since comparable records began in 1971.
• There were 1.49 million unemployed people (people not in work but seeking and available to work), 64,000 fewer than for December 2016 to February 2017 and 152,000 fewer than for a year earlier.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at UK labour market – Office for National Statistics