UK unemployment falls again

UK unemployment in the three months to October fell by 63,000 to 1.96 million, official figures show.

The fall was the slowest quarterly fall for a year, leading some analysts to speculate that the rate of improvement may have peaked.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobless rate was 6%, matching its lowest level in six years.

On a quarterly basis, average earnings excluding bonuses grew by 1.6%. Including bonuses they rose by 1.4%.

For a long time, earnings growth had been lagging the inflation rate, but in the last quarter it overtook inflation for the first time in five years, and the latest figures show that

UK economy grew 0.9% in second quarter, says ONS

UK economic growth has been revised up to 0.9% for the second quarter of the year by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), compared with a previous estimate of 0.8%.

UK GDP was 3.2% higher in the second quarter compared with a year earlier.

Revised ONS figures also show the UK economy surpassed its pre-recession peak in the third quarter of 2013.

Previously, this was thought to have been achieved in the second quarter of 2014.