UK unemployment has fallen to its lowest level since 2008, when the fall of US investment bank Lehman Brothers brought the global economy to the brink of collapse.
The jobless rate in Britain fell by more than City economists had been expecting, to 6% in the three months to August, from 6.2% in the three months to July. The forecasts had been 6.1%.
Unemployment has not been as low as 6% since September 2008, the month when Lehman Brothers collapsed. The last time it was lower than 6% was August 2008, when it was 5.9%.
Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Our jobs rich economic recovery means that Britain is fast becoming the job creation capital of the western economies. Because our recovery plan is working, so is the country and in record numbers.”
The number of unemployed people fell by 154,000 between June and August to 1.97 million.
Pay increased by 0.7% over the three months, compared with a year earlier, prolonging the fall in real pay as wage growth continued to lag inflation.
Pay growth excluding bonuses was 0.9% over the same period.
David Cameron tweeted: “The biggest-ever fall in unemployment in history, taking it below 2m, is great news. Our plan is working, but there’s still much more to do.”
