Unemployment low

Unemployment hits 44-year lowUK unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 44 years in the three months to October. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits decreased by 13,000 to 1.28m for the quarter, ONS figures show. The overall rate of unemployment held flat at 3.8%, while the unemployment rate for women fell to a record low of 3.5%. The number of people in work increased by 24,000 to 32.8m, while the proportion of people in employment was flat at 76.2%, with 27.7m people in paid employment. The ONS data also revealed that average total pay increased by 3.2% in the quarter, while job vacancies fell by 20,000 to 794,000.