A record number of people are in work and the number claiming jobseeker's allowance has fallen for the 12th month in a row, new figures showed today.
The employment level has reached 29.1 million, the highest since comparable records began in 1971.
The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by 12,800 in September to a two-year low of 835,800, the 12th consecutive monthly fall. Unemployment, including those not eligible for benefit, fell by 5,000 in the quarter to August to 1.65 million.
But the figures were marred by new data showing that the number of people classed as economically inactive increased by 41,000 in the latest quarter to reach a record high of 7.97 million.
The overwhelming number of inactive people have given up looking for work, although the figures include students, the long-term or temporary sick and those looking after a family.
The number of manufacturing jobs continued to fall, down by 42,000 in the three months to August compared with a year ago to 2.95 million, the lowest on record.
Average earnings increased by 3.7 per cent in the year to August, up by 0.2 per cent compared with the previous month.
Earnings growth in private firms was 4 per cent, compared with 2.9 per cent in the public sector, today's information from the Office for National Statistics showed.
There were almost 670,000 job vacancies in the economy in the last three months, an increase of more than 21,000 over the previous quarter.
The UK's employment rate is now 74 per cent after an increase of 22,000 in the level in the latest quarter and by 82,000 over the year. The number of hours worked per week has also reached a records of 935 million, up by 5.6 million over the past year.
There were 84,000 working days lost through industrial disputes in August, the lowest monthly figure since April, but five times more than last August.