UK unemployment falls

The number of people out of work fell by 133,000 to 2.21 million in the three months to March, the lowest figure for five years, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The unemployment rate now stands at 6.9% of the adult working population, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Average earnings in the three months to February grew 1.7% compared with a year earlier. It comes as inflation was recorded to have fallen to 1.6% in March.

It is also the first time since the recession that unemployment has fallen below 7%.