This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/business-13436252
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| UK unemployment falls by 36,000 to 2.46 million | UK unemployment falls by 36,000 to 2.46 million |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| UK unemployment fell by 36,000 in the three months to the end of March to 2.46 million, the second quarterly drop in a row, official figures show. | UK unemployment fell by 36,000 in the three months to the end of March to 2.46 million, the second quarterly drop in a row, official figures show. |
| The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment in the UK was now 7.7%. | The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment in the UK was now 7.7%. |
| Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds stood at 935,000, with the jobless rate for young people now at 20%. | Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds stood at 935,000, with the jobless rate for young people now at 20%. |
| The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 12,400 in April to 1.47 million, the ONS said. | The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance rose by 12,400 in April to 1.47 million, the ONS said. |
| It added that the number of people in employment rose by 118,000 to 29.24 million, compared with a pre-recession peak of 29.56 million recorded in the three months to the end of May 2008. | |
| The latest ONS figures show that the number of unemployed men fell by 31,000 to 1.43 million, while the number of unemployed women fell by 5,000 to 1.03 million. | |
| Of the 12,400 extra people claiming the Jobseeker's Allowance, 9,300 were women, the highest figure since October 1996. The number of male claimants rose for the first time since January. | |
| Average earnings, including bonuses, rose by 2.3% in the year to March. | |
| The ONS also said that the number of working days lost through labour disputes in the year to March was the joint lowest total since records began in 1930. | |
| 'Fiscal squeeze' | |
| Employment Minister Chris Grayling said the figures represented a "step in the right direction", but he warned that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance was likely to continue rising. | |
| Some analysts warned that despite the fall in unemployment, the number of people out of work was likely to rise again in the coming months, largely due to government spending cuts. | |
| "We suspect that likely below-trend growth will mean that the private sector will be unable to fully compensate for the increasing job losses in the public sector that will result from the fiscal squeeze that is now really kicking in," said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight. | |
| He said he expected 2.67 million people to be out of work by the end of this year, with the unemployment rate rising to 8.4%. | |
| The government has started implementing extensive spending cuts that are designed to reduce the budget deficit, which is the amount it spends each year over and above its income. | |
| It says that the cuts are necessary to restore international investors' confidence in the UK economy, but critics argue that the cuts could jeopardise the UK's fragile recovery. |