Office of National Statistics says unemployment rate falling

Across the country unemployment fell by 51,000 between February and April to 2.61 million, according to official figures from the Office of National Statistics. The number of people in work saw its biggest increase since the quarter to August 2010 as the employment rate increased by 166,000 to almost 29.28 million. Almost eight million people are now in a part-time job, while those working part-time because they cannot find full-time work increased by 25,000 to 1.4 million. Self-employment has reached a new high of 4.17 million, up by 84,000 since the previous quarter. The number of people unemployed for more than two years rose by 29,000 to 434,000. June 22, 2012