The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released figures showing that UK employment rates were up between February and April compared to the three months to January 2015.
43,000 fewer individuals were out of work between February and April, bringing the number of jobless down to 1.81 million. This equates to 5.5% of the population, the lowest since August 2008.
Employment Ministers Priti Patel said: ‘Today’s figures confirm that out long-term economic plan is already starting to deliver a better, more prosperous future for the whole of the country, with wages rising, more people finding jobs and more women in work than every before’.
The positive news comes as think-tank the Resolution Foundation confirmed that real wages have risen by up to 2.8%, the fastest rate since 2007.
Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, David Kern, said: ‘The speed in the rise in earnings will embolden a minority on the Monetary Policy Committee who feel the urge to raise rates.
‘However, until there is firmer evidence of comparable increases in productivity, such a move would be premature.’
