British unemployment remains at record low

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - British unemployment remained near its all-time low in the three months leading up to the end of January, according to official data released by the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday.

The November-January jobless rate was largely stable at 3.7% that quarter, as the number of people who have been unemployed for at least 12 months rose slightly in the most recent three-month period.

Job vacancies in the country fell for the eighth consecutive quarter as companies held back on new hirings, the report said.

In December 2022-February 2023, the estimated number of vacancies diminished by 51,000 in the quarter to over 1.12 million.

Wages growth went down to 5.7%, compared to a revised 6% in December, with average regular pay growth for the private sector at 7% in November-January, and 4.8% for the public sector.

The data was released a day before the chancellor's budget, in which plans to encourage people back into work were expected to be outlined.

The rate of economic inactivity, which measures the proportion of people aged 16-64 who are neither working nor seeking a job, fell to 21.3% in November-January.