The unemployment rate fell by 77,000 to 2.4 million between December 2013 and February 2014, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The official unemployment rate now stands at 6.9%, the lowest since February 2009.

Between December 2013 and February 2014, 30.39 million people were in work, which is 691,000 more people than the same period a year earlier. During this period, 72.6% of people between 16 and 64 were employed.

The ONS figures also show that average weekly pay rose 1.7% during the same period.

With inflation currently at 1.6%, this is the first time that average wages have grown faster than inflation since 2010.

Some key ONS wages data is shown below:

  • Total private sector pay including bonuses rose 2%
  • Total public sector pay including bonuses rose 0.9%
  • Excluding financial services, total public sector pay including bonuses rose 1.3%