Employment rate joint highest since 1971
19 April 2017
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the employment rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work) was 74.6%, the joint highest since comparable records began in 1971.
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The unemployment rate was 4.7% in the 3 months to February 2017, down from 5.1% a year earlier; it has not been lower since June to August 1975.
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Estimates from the Labour Force Survey show that, between September to November 2016 and the three months to February 2017, the number of people in work increased, the number of unemployed people fell, and the number of people aged from 16 to 64 not working and not seeking or available to work (economically inactive) also fell.
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There were 31.84 million people in work, 39,000 more than for September to November 2016 and 312,000 more than for a year earlier.
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Strong demand for labour is translating into a shift from part-time to full-time employment, and an increase in the average hours worked per week by both full time and part-time employees.
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The number of vacancies increased by 2.1% between the last quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 to 767,000, the highest level on record.
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For the 3 months ending February 2017, the highest employment rate in the UK was in the South West (78.8%) and the lowest was in Northern Ireland (68.8%).
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For the 3 months ending February 2017, the highest unemployment rate in the UK was in the North East (6.4%) and the lowest was in the South East (3.4%).
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A continued pick-up in consumer price inflation sees annual real wage growth weaken to its lowest rate since 2014.