British unemployment rate down to 5.6 percent

(MENAFN) Official labor market data showed that Britain's economy created the largest number of new jobs in nearly a year and unemployment hit its lowest rate since mid-2008, Arab News reported.

The unemployment rate now stands at 5.6 percent, down from 7.9 percent at the time of the last election. But the pace of growth in workers' pay was largely unchanged at 2 percent, the Office for National Statistics said.

Prime Minister hailed the numbers, which cover the three months to February, as underlining his government's "jobs miracle." The opposition Labor Party stressed the slow pace of Britain's recovery in living standards.

"It may be that our labor market shifted over the downturn, with far lower levels of unemployment now needed to bring nominal pay growth back," chief economist at the Resolution Foundation said.