LONDON (MktNews) - The UK labour market resumed tightening in January as the number of people out of jobs and claiming benefits shot up, official figures showed Wednesday. Claimant count unemployment dropped by 25,500 on the month in January, far exceeding expectations of a fall of 4,000. December's fall is also now estimated to be far bigger -- the claimant count then fell by 14,000 versus a previously reported 2,600. A National Statistics spokesman said the revision to the December figures was simply part of the seasonal adjustment process. The claimant count rate now stands at 3.5%, the lowest since September 1975. The spokesman also said that employment growth is now estimated to be "broadly flat". The Labour Force Survey's measure of employment fell again in the three months to December, by 5,000 versus a drop of 25,000 in the previous period. Unemployment on the ILO measure in the three months to December fell 21,000 on the previous period and was down 169,000 on the year. The ILO unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.3%. Manufacturing unit wage costs in the three months to December fell 0.2% on the same period a year earlier. Manufacturing productivity rose 4.8% on a year earlier.