Jobless figures continue to buck recessionary trend

Unemployment
has fallen to its lowest level for 25 years.

The
jobless rate has continued to fall despite the impact of the recession on the
UK’s manufacturing sector, official figures showed today.

The
Office for National Statistics says the number of people claiming benefit fell
by 6,000 last month to 945,600, the lowest figure since October 1975.

It
had been thought a raft of job cuts, particularly in the tech and telecoms
sectors, would show in the figures.

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But
data shows that while the manufacturing sector employed 37,000 fewer people,
there was a 31,000 rise in the financial services workforce and a 27,000
increase in public administration, education and health.

The
jobless rate remained at 3.1 per cent in August, the ONS claimed.