The claimant count in March 2008 was 794,300, down 1,200 on the previous month and down 110,600 on a year earlier. The claimant count rate in March 2008 was 2.5 per cent, unchanged from the previous month but down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

Economically inactive

The working age economic inactivity rate was 20.9 per cent in the three months to February 2008, down 0.1 percentage point on the three months to November 2007 and down 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier. The number of economically inactive people of working age decreased by 36,000 over the quarter and by 71,000 over the year to reach 7.87 million in the three months to February 2008.

GB average earnings

In the three months to February 2008, whole economy average earnings, excluding bonuses, increased by 3.8 per cent, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. Including bonuses, the increase was 3.7 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. Corresponding figures for the main industrial categories were:

Manufacturing

3.7 per cent excluding bonuses, down 0.1 percentage point;
3.8 per cent including bonuses, unchanged.

Services

3.9 per cent excluding bonuses, up 0.1 percentage point;
3.8 per cent including bonuses, down 0.1 percentage point.

Public sector

3.8 per cent excluding bonuses, up 0.2 percentage points;
3.7 per cent including bonuses, up 0.2 percentage points.
Private sector

3.8 per cent excluding bonuses, up 0.1 percentage point;
3.7 per cent including bonuses, down 0.3 percentage points.

Productivity and unit wage costs

Whole economy productivity was 1.7 per cent higher in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with a year earlier. Whole economy unit wage costs rose by 2.7 per cent over the same period.

Manufacturing productivity rose by 3.0 per cent in the three months to February 2008 compared with a year earlier. Manufacturing unit wage costs increased by 0.8 per cent over
the same period.

Production industry employee jobs

There were 2.90 million employee jobs in manufacturing industries in the three months to February 2008, down 27,000 on the same period a year earlier. Mining, energy and water supply industries jobs increased by 6,000 over the same period to reach 170,000.

Vacancies

There were 687,600 job vacancies in the three months to March 2008, up 12,000 from the previous three months and up 52,000 from the same period a year earlier. There were 2.6 vacancies per 100 employee jobs, unchanged from the previous quarter.

Redundancies