The total number of people in work increased by 114,000 to a total of 31.05 million peopleThe number of unemployed in the UK has fallen again; while wage growth has hit a near four year high, official figures have shown.
The latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics showed that the number of people out of work between February and April fell by 43,000 to 1.81 milllion, with the jobless rate holding steady at 5.5 per cent, the lowest level since August 2008.
At the same time the rise in wages grew at their quickest rate since August 2011, increasing by 2.7 per cent for both wages with and without bonuses.
The total number of people in work increased by 114,000 over the previous three month period to a total of 31.05 million people.
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The number of women in work also hit a record high, as the employment rate for women reached 68.6 per cent.
The government welcomed the findings, with an Employment Minister saying “Today’s figures confirm that our long-term economic plan is already starting to deliver a better, more prosperous future for the whole of the country, with wages rising, more people finding jobs and more women in work than ever before”
The ONS figures showed that the rate of young people in work is lower than those in older age groups.
For the February to April period, the unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 was 16.1 per cent.
Some economists have cautioned that strong wage growth might not continue indefinitely, with inflation running at just 0.1%, according to figures released on Tuesday.
“It’s uncertain as to how much pay growth will continue to accelerate, as low inflation will hold down annual pay reviews,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.
