Thursday 16th October 2014
Unemployment has seen the largest annual fall since records began over 40 years ago.
The number of unemployed people is now below 2 million for the first time since 2008, figures published on Wednesday 15th October by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.
In the largest annual fall since the 1970s, when Donny Osmond topped the charts with Puppy Love - there are now over half a million fewer unemployed people than there were a year ago. The unemployment rate has also fallen again - to 6% - a new 6-year low. This compares to an unemployment rate of 7.7% just a year ago. Over the last year every single region and nation in the UK has seen a fall in unemployment.
 There are now a record 30.76 million people in work. Compared to 2010 there are over 2 million more people in private sector jobs - more than the total number of people currently unemployed - showing that the Government's long-term economic plan to create jobs by backing businesses is working.
Employment Minister Esther McVey (left), said: "All of our reforms are focussed on helping people into work and today's record figures show that the Government's long-term economic plan to help businesses create jobs and get people working again is proving successful.
"Behind the record figures there are countless individual stories of people turning their lives around, of families who are now feeling more secure with a regular wage, and of young people escaping unemployment and building a career.
"We know there is always more to do, which is why it is vital to stick to delivering a plan for full employment that's creating growth and jobs."
Schemes like the Government's Work Programme have contributed to the largest drop in long-term unemployment since 1998 - falling by 194,000 on the year. The number of people on Jobseeker's Allowance fell for the 23rd month in a row, with over 540,000 fewer people who are signing-on than in 2010.
Young People
Young people (18-24) saw the largest annual fall in unemployment since records began - falling by over a quarter of a million since last year. Excluding those in full-time education, there are now 468,000 unemployed young people. This is down by nearly a third compared to last year and lower than just before the recession.
The number of young people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell again, for the 34th month in a row. There are now fewer young JSA claimants than at any time in two generations - having dropped by 123,000 in the past year.
Women
There are record numbers of women in work with the UK having seen the fastest growth in the number of women in work in the last year out of all G7 economies. Of those women working part-time, nearly 90% have chosen to work part-time because it suits them. The proportion of women working part-time who want full-time work (12.6%) is falling, down 41,000 over the last year.
International Comparisons
Over the last year the UK has seen the largest growth in employment and the largest fall in unemployment in the G7.
Vacancies
Job vacancies rose again, up 130,000 over the past year bringing the number of vacancies in the UK economy to 674,000.
Wages
Wages excluding bonuses were up 0.9% on the year, with private sector wages rising faster - at 1.2% - than the public sector. The financial services sector saw bonuses fall by 5%.
Employment Minister Esther McVey said, "All of our reforms are focussed on helping people into work. There are 83,000 more people in work in the East Midlands than this time last year, which shows that the Government's long-term economic plan to help businesses create jobs and get people working again is proving successful.
"Behind today's figures, there are countless individual stories of people turning their lives around, of families who are now feeling more secure with a regular wage, and of young people escaping unemployment and building a career.
"We know there is always more to do, which is why it is vital to stick to delivering a plan for full employment that's creating growth and jobs."
 Angela Stansfield, Employer and Partnership manager of Jobcentre Plus in Chesterfield, told The Chesterfield Post that the figures were pleasing for everyone, saying, "Again, month on month, we seem to get very good figures. We compare them to this time last year and certainly youth unemployment is still falling, and the number of people on JSA has fallen 41% since this time last year - that seems to be an onward trend."
There are a few factors in this says Angela including, "A buoyant labour market, with vacancies across many sectors. With youth unemployment we have focused support on this, with work experience programmes and we have a one stop shop in Chesterfield Job Centre, so there is a lot of support."
Angela added, "The reason why unemployment is falling is that its not in any one area. Chesterfield has lots of opportunities in retail with the expansions and developments so we continue to see growth in retail.
"We also have vacancies with companies like Sports Direct, based in Shirebrook, but they have large numbers of vacancies on a good bus route, so we find people going out there.
In Chesterfield itself, the jobs market is, says Angela, "Bucking the trend. Over the last few years, somehow Chesterfield has been able to maintain new employers coming in to the area. We have continued with the construction and housebuilding so this has meant that the jobs market in Chesterfield hasn't been as bad as elsewhere. The Tourism industry helps too with the rail links and where we are in Derbyshire. We have bucked the trend in my experience."
Listen to the interview in full with JobCentre Plus' Angela Stansfield here...
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