Department for Work and Pensions
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Largest fall in unemployment since records began
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 yesterday 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.
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