The jobless rate hits its lowest level in 42 years

BRITAIN’S unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 42 years yesterday.

The number of people in work also hit a record high following last year’s EU referendum.

There were 1.54 million unemployed between January and March, 53,000 fewer than in the previous quarter and 152,000 fewer than in the same period last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This dragged the unemployment rate down from 4.7 per cent to 4.6 per cent – the lowest level since the ONS started collecting the data in 1975.

The number of workers jumped by 122,000 over the three-month period to 31.95 million. This pushed the employment rate up from 74.6 per cent to 74.8 per cent – the highest since records began in 1971. But proBrussels parties seized on the figures which confirmed that real-terms wages are falling for the first time since 2014, as the cost of living is rising faster than pay.

Average weekly earnings rose from 2.3 per cent in February to 2.4 per cent in March, outpacing inflation of 2.1 per cent. But excluding bonuses, real wages fell by 0.2 per cent.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: ‘This is the start of the Brexit squeeze that millions of people were conned into voting for.’

But Ian Stewart, chief economist at consultants Deloitte, said: ‘In terms of creating jobs and getting people into work, the UK is a world-beater.’

‘The UK is a world-beater’