UK unemployment falls to 2.47m

UK unemployment fell 0.1% to 7.8% in the three months to May this year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.

This represents 2.47m people out of work between March and May, and is 34,000 less than between December last year and February 2010. The employment rate for was 72.3%, or 28.98m, a rise of 0.3% from December 2009 to February 2010. This means 160,000 more people found work over the quarter, the ONS says. The inactivity rate was 21.3%, a reduction of 0.2% from December to February, while the claimant count of people on Jobseeker's Allowance fell 0.1% from May and now stands at 1.46m. Although these data are encouraging, economists remain sceptical that they signal an economic recove...