The number of people out of work in Britain and claiming unemployment benefits edged higher in March, according to figures this morning. The UK claimant count level rose by an adjusted 1,800 to reach 939,900, National Statistics said. This is the first time the claimant count has increased for two straight months since December 2001, although the increase was smaller than the 3,000 figure expected. The claimant count was 4,700 lower than six months ago and 7,700 lower than a year ago.
Based on the government's preferred ILO definition, unemployment fell 22,000 in the three months to February, compared with the previous three months, to 1.49 million. The number of people in work rose to 27.81 million, up 33,000 and the most since records began in 1984. In percentage terms, the unemployment rate fell 0.1pc in the three months to February to 5.1pc but unchanged compared with a year ago. //www.fxcentre.com