The latest statistics show that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell in December. The claimant count dropped by 4,100 people in December to 1.46 million, the Office for National Statistics said. City economists had expected the claimant count to be broadly flat in December, as hiring by private companies was countered by the government’s cuts to public spending.
However, the wider unemployment count, the ILO measure, showed that 49,000 people lost their jobs in the three months to November. The total number of people out of work came in at 2.498m, down from the 2.502m hit last month, but higher than the 2.448m over the June-August period.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 19 January 2011