Fall in unemployment

The ONS has reported that the number of people out of work fell by 7,000 to 2.59m in the three months to July. The unemployment rate was 8.1% in the period, down from the previous quarter’s 8.2%. The figures also show that the number out of work for more than a year was 904,000, the highest since 1996. There was a fall of 15,000 in the number claiming Jobseeker's Allowance to 1.57m, the largest drop since June 2010. The number in work increased by 236,000 to 29.56m, a figure the FT notes is virtually back to its pre-recession peak. The Olympic Games is likely to have been a factor as London accounted for 91,000 of them. The total in part-time work rose by 134,000 to 8.12m, the highest level since records began in 1992. Contrasting fortunes in Scotland saw Alex Salmond blaming the lack of an “Olympic effect” for pushing their unemployment rate, which is 8.2%, above the rest of the UK. Source: Financial Times, Page: 3   The Daily Telegraph, Business, Page: 2   The Times, Business, Page: 51   The Guardian, Page: 29   The Herald, Page: 6