The UK unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly in three months to January, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed on Tuesday.
The unemployment rate came in at 5.0 percent in three months to January, below economists' forecast of 5.2 percent and 5.1 percent seen in three months to December.
However, the rate was 1.1 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
At the same time, the employment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter to 75.0 percent.
Data showed that growth in average total pay, including bonuses for the three months to January increased to 4.8 percent, but slightly smaller than the expected growth of 4.9 percent.
Excluding bonuses, annual growth in regular pay increased to 4.2 percent versus the forecast of 4.4 percent.
During December to February, the number of job vacancies was 26.8 percent lower than a year ago.
The number of claimant count increased by 86,600 on month in February. The claimant count stood at 7.5 percent compared to 7.2 percent in January.
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