LJN Blog Posts

UK unemployment fell by 57,000 to 2.51 million in the three months to May, the Office for National Statistics says.

The unemployment rate was steady at 7.8%.

The ONS also said that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in June fell by 21,200 to 1.48 million. This fall was the fastest rate in three years.

• The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 71.4%, down 0.1 percentage points from December 2012 to February 2013 but up 0.6 from a year earlier. There were 29.71 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 16,000 from December 2012 to February 2013 and up 336,000 from a year earlier.
• The unemployment rate was 7.8% of the economically active population, down 0.2 percentage points from December 2012 to February 2013 and down 0.3 from a year earlier. There were 2.51 million unemployed people, down 57,000 from December 2012 to February 2013 and down 72,000 from a year earlier.
• The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 22.5%, up 0.2 percentage points from December 2012 to February 2013 but down 0.4 from a year earlier. There were 9.04 million economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64, up 87,000 from December 2012 to February 2013 but down 144,000 from a year earlier.
• Total pay rose by 1.7% compared with March to May 2012. Regular pay rose by 1.0% over the same period.