By Richard Johnstone | 21 January 2015
The UK’s unemployment rate has fallen below 6% for the first time in six years, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics today.
For the three months from September to November, the percentage of the workforce looking for work was 5.8%, lower than the previous three month.
when it was 6.0%, and lower than for a year earlier (7.1%).
The total number of people out of work stood at 1.91 million, 58,000 fewer than for June to August 2014. However, this is the smallest quarterly fall since July to September 2013.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith highlighted that the number of job vacancies in the economy was around 700,000, a 14-year record high.
‘We have reached an important milestone in this country’s jobs-led recovery – with unemployment falling below 6% for the first time in six years,’ he said.
The government’s welfare reforms, which include the introduction of a £26,000 cap on the amount of benefits that can be claimed by household in a year, had been ‘instrumental’ in helping more people into work, he added.
‘We know that British people want to work hard and get on, but all too often in the past the welfare state hindered rather than helped, thwarting ambition and killing off hope. We put an end to that and now the number of people claiming the main out-of-work benefits is the lowest for a generation, and there are record numbers of people in work.
‘Thanks to our long-term economic plan, businesses are feeling confident about the future. Jobs are being created and salaries are rising, meaning that increasing numbers of people are feeling the security and hope for the future that comes with a regular wage.’
Today’s figures also show that youth unemployment has fallen by 171,000 compared to this time last year, with the total now at 520,000.
Geraint Johnes, director at Lancaster University’s Work Foundation, commented that the labour market was continuing its progress towards normality.
He noted that, in all regions bar one, the unemployment rate is now 7% or lower, the exception being the North East where the rate is 8.5%.
Johnes added: ‘One statistic that is worth monitoring over the coming period is economic inactivity. In some regions in particular – Yorkshire and Humber and London, for example – recent increases in this variable have been pronounced. This may be concealing some less pleasant aspects of the way the market is evolving.’
The unemployment figures comes as the Department for Work and Pensions introduced its new ‘claimant commitment' regime in all British jobcentres. Under the new initiative, people who receive Jobseeker’s Allowance will be given responsibilities that they must meet while looking for work or they will lose their out-of-work benefit.
