Unemployment falls to lowest rate in more than a decade
Unemployment fell to the lowest rate in more than a decade, figures revealed today as Britain's labour market continued to defy doom-laden Brexit forecasts.
Britain hit a new record employment record at the end of last year, with more than 31.8million people in work, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The figures show 300,000 more people are in work than a year ago, when Remain campaigners such as former Chancellor George Osborne was warning of job losses if Britain voted for Brexit in the June referendum.
In the last three months of 2016 unemployment fell by 7,000 to just under 1.6million.
The new jobless rate 4.77 per cent is the lowest since the start of 2006 - before the financial crash - and one of the lowest in Europe.
Unemployment fell to the lowest rate in more than a decade, figures revealed today as Britain's labour market continued to defy doom-laden Brexit forecasts
During the referendum campaign Mr Osborne and David Cameron issued a grim warning that Brexit could cost 800,000 jobs.
Even in their more moderate forecast the former PM and Chancellor forecast 520,000 job losses.
It is the latest sign of Britain's economy defying the forecasts from last year as Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 - the formal mechanism for leaving the EU - next month.
The ONS figures show the number of people on the so-called claimant count fell by 42,400 in January to 745,000, the biggest monthly fall since the autumn of 2013.
ONS said the claimant count figures were likely to be volatile because of the complexities of rolling out Universal Credit, which was launched in 2013 to replace a number of benefits, including Jobseeker's Allowance.
Average earnings increased by 2.6 per cent in the year to December, 0.2 per cent down on the previous month.
Other figures showed that the number of non-UK nationals working in this country increased by 233,000 to 3.48 million between October to December 2015 and the same quarter last year.
During the referendum campaign Mr Osborne and David Cameron issued a grim warning that Brexit could cost 800,000 jobs
Non-UK nationals from the EU increased by 190,000 to 2.24 million while those from outside the EU increased by 42,000 to 1.24 million.
The proportion of people working in the UK accounted for by non-UK nationals has increased from 3.8 per cent to 10.9 per cent since 1997.
ONS senior statistician David Freeman said: 'Continued moderate growth in employment has led to a new high in the total employment rate, while the rate for women has reached 70 per cent for the first time on record.
'Overall, the labour market appears to be edging towards full capacity.'
The number of people classed as economically inactive has fallen by 31,000 to 8.8 million, a rate of 21 per cent of the working population.
The figure includes students, people looking after a relative, on long-term sick leave, taken early retirement or who have given up looking for work.
The number of people in full-time work has increased by 218,000 over the past year to 23 million, while part-time employment has risen by 84,000 to 8.5 million.
The UK's employment rate of 74.6 per cent is the highest since records began in 1971.