Jobless total falls to 2.08 million

Unemployment has continued to fall, while the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance is on course to dip below a million for the first time in six years.
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The jobless total was 2.08 million in the quarter to June, down by 132,000 on January to March and the lowest since the end of 2009, giving an unemployment rate of 6.4%.

The claimant count fell for the 21st month in a row in June, by 33,600 to 1.01 million, according to today’s data from the Office for National Statistics.

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If the trend continues, the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants will fall below a million next month for the first time since September 2008.

The number of self-employed people has reached a record 4.5 million.

Average earnings fell by 0.2% in the year to June, due to an unusually high growth rate a year ago. Excluding bonuses, pay was 0.6% higher than a year ago.

More people are in work - up by 167,000 over the quarter and by 820,000 compared with a year ago,to 30.6 million.

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Unemployment has now fallen by 437,000 over the past year, although there was a 15,000 increase in the number of people classed as economically inactive to 8.8 million.

The figure includes students, people looking after a sick relative, taking early retirement or who have given up looking for work.

The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds fell by 102,000 over the quarter to 767,000, more than 200,000 lower than a year ago, the biggest fall since records began in 1992.

Long-term unemployment also fell, with the number out of work for over a year down by 75,000 to 738,000.