LONDON: The UK unemployment total has fallen to its lowest level for 18 months while the number of people in work has reached another record high, British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday.
The jobless total fell by 37,000 between September and November to 2.49 million, the Office for National Statistics said.
The ONS said the number of people in work had increased to 29.7 million.
The number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell 12,100 to 1.56 million last month, the lowest since June 2011.
The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 per cent in the three months to November, down from 7.8 per cent in the previous quarter.
The ONS figures also showed that the number of people employed full time rose by 113,000, offsetting a fall in part-time employment of 23,000.
There was a drop in the number of long-term unemployed. Those out of work for more than two years fell by 10,000 to 434,000, while the number out of work for more than a year dropped by 5,000 to 892,000.
However, there was a slight increase in youth unemployment. The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work rose by 1,000 to 957,000.