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
