--UK Jan headline avg earnings up 4.4% on year
--UK adj Feb claimant count unemployment dn 10,600 from Jan
--UK Jan headline avg earnings below mkt forecasts
--UK Jan single mo avg earnings up 3.9% on year vs Dec 4.8%
--UK Feb claimant count 996,200, rate 3.4%
--UK claimant count below 1 million for first time since 1975
--UK Jan unadj earnings ex bonuses 3.8 pct pts, bonuses 0.3 pct pts
--UK Nov-Jan ILO unemployment 5.2% down vs Aug-Oct 5.5%
--UK Nov-Jan ILO unemployment down 81,000 on Aug-Oct
--UK Nov-Jan manufacturing unit labor costs dn 0.5% on yr
--ONS says UK employment growth has resumed
--UK Nov-Jan Labor Force Survey employment rate 74.8%
--UK Nov-Jan Labor Force Survey employment up 102,000 on qtr
--ONS: Slower UK Jan earnings growth due to Millennium effect

London, March 14 (BridgeNews) - U.K. unemployment finally fell below the million mark in February for the first time in more than 25 years to deliver the government a welcome pre-election lift. The claimant count dropped 10,600 to 996,200, a rate of only 3.4%, and is now the lowest since November 1975, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. Meanwhile, average earnings growth in January remained unchanged at an annual rate of 4.4% but there was a big slowdown in the single month rate caused by the one-off effect of last year's Millennium bonuses.
* * * The ONS said that employment growth has now resumed after a temporary lull at the end of last year. The number of people in work as measured by the Labour Force Survey rose 102,000 in the three months to the end of January to reach a record total of 28,086,000. The employment rate now stands at 74.8%, the highest rate since 1990.
The ILO measure of unemployment, which the government generally prefers when discussing the labor market, fell 81,000 in the latest three months to 1,535,000. Both this level and the rate of 5.2% are the lowest since the series began back in 1984.
Taken altogether, the labor market statistics show a very healthy picture of rising employment and falling unemployment. It remains difficult, however, to quantify just how tight the market has become by looking at the official measure of wage inflation. Once again, the average earnings series has been distorted by Millennium effects, producing a sharp slowdown in the single month rate of growth.
The headline measure, which averages the latest three months, was unchanged at 4.4% in January but the single month rate dropped to an annual rate of 3.9% from December's 4.8%. The ONS said one-off payments made at the turn of the year last year produced a downward effect on this year's figure.
The effect also showed up in the measure excluding bonuses because many of the payments were classed at overtime. The ex-bonus single month measure dropped to 3.8% compared with 4.6% in December.