New figures released by the Office for National Statistics has revealed that UK unemployment rates have fallen for the first time since last spring.
The amount of unemployed fell by 35,000 to a new figure of 2.65 million for the period of December to February and the rate of unemployment dropped slightly from 8.4% to 8.3%, the lowest level since summer 2011.
The amount of those claiming unemployment benefits saw an increase of 3,600 in March to 1.61 million which was, according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest total since October 2009.
Speaking to BBC News Nick Palmer from the Office for National Statistics said:
“If you look at the longer-term picture, unemployment rose quite strongly during the summer of last year, then the increases tailed off a bit towards the end of the year.”
“So despite this latest decrease, the level of unemployment is significantly higher than it was a year ago, in fact it is some 170,000 higher than it was at the same point a year ago.”
