Economy: UK Jobless Rate Falls To 7.7%

The UK's unemployment rate has dipped to 7.7% for the first time since late 2012 amid improving signs for the labour market.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate fell in the three months to July from 7.8% previously as the number of people out of work fell by 24,000 to 2.487 million.

That was the lowest jobless rate since September-November period last year, the ONS said.

In another signal of continued recovery, the total claiming jobless benefit fell by 32,600 in August - the steepest decline since June 1997.

The monthly jobs data has taken on a new significance since the Bank of England pledged last month to keep the base rate of interest at its record low as long as the unemployment rate remained above 7%.

It does not expect to raise the rate until late 2016 though markets are pricing in the first increase in December 2014 as economic recovery gathers pace - bets that have led to rises in a range of market interest rates, including those that usually feed mortgages and other loans.

The ONS highlighted the continued squeeze on household incomes by measuring a 1.1% increase in average weekly earnings between May and July versus a year earlier.

That continues to lag inflation which is running at 2.8%.

The number of people working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job surged to 1.45 million - the highest since records began in 1992.

The ONS said that figure had doubled over the past five years.

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