UK unemployment falls to 1.84m

[Raptor]

UK unemployment fell 76,000 to 1.84 million in the three months to February, official figures have shown.
That means the jobless rate has fallen to 5.6%, down from 5.7% for the three months to January, in line with forecasts.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in March fell by 20,700 to 772,400, the Office for National Statistics said.
Employment hit a new record high, up 248,000 to 31.049 million.
That was the biggest increase in a three-month period since April 2014.


The unemployment rate is now at its lowest level since July 2008 and down from 7.9% at the time of the last election in 2010.
The ONS also said on Friday that average weekly earnings in the three months to February, excluding bonuses, rose by 1.8% compared with the same period a year earlier. The rate was down from 1.9% in January.
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