Unemployment figure drop stirs hope for UK economy; Photocredit: Jason Cartwright

The number of unemployed people in the UK fell during September to November in 2009, marking the first quarterly decline in 18 months, according to a report today by the Office for National Statistics. The Office stated that the broad International Labour Organization measure of unemployment fell by 7,000 bringing the number of unemployed to 2.46 million.

Read the report by the Office for National Statistics here

The report also showed a decrease in the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, the claimant count, by 15,200 in December 2009, bringing the figure to 1.61 million. This is the second consecutive monthly fall and the largest monthly fall since April 2007.

The unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent of the workforce on the quarter. This is lower than the 10 percent rate in the US, according to the latest report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current statistics from Eurostat also show 10 percent for the eurozone.

However, some discouraging figures were also reported, including the number of employed people falling to 28.92 million. The total of people out of work for more than 12 months rose 4.7 percent. The number of inactive people of working age increased to a record high of 8.05 million, driven by an increase in the number of students not in the labour market. This was the highest since the records began in 1993, the report showed.

Economists previously predicted that the jobless figure would rise to 3.5 million, but most now think it will peak this year at about 2.8 million or even lower. But many also said it was too early to celebrate, reported The Financial Times.

Stephen Lewis, an economist at Monument Securities told the BBC, ”The jobless figures show a rather steeper-than-expected decline in the claimant count,” but a recovery in the labour market would still depend on the recovery in the wider economy.

John Wright, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, noted that many of the jobs created in the run-up to Christmas might not last long. The key would be to get small businesses to turn the seasonal jobs into permanent ones, reported The Guardian.

Bank Governor Meryn King said last night at the monthly Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting that the patience of UK households will be “sorely tried” in the years ahead as the recovery from recession remains slow, reported The London Evening Standard.

Analysts hope that today’s positive figures will be reflected in next week’s fourth-quarter gross domestic product statistics to be revealed Tuesday, reported The Financial Times.