By Marcus Leach
UK unemployment is down by 46,000 to 2.56 million in the three months to June according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics figures revealed that the unemployment rate fell to 8.0% in this period, down from 8.2% in the previous quarter. Further to that, the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 5,900 to 1.59 million in July.
In the 16-to-24 age group there were 1.01 million people unemployed, down 4,000 from the three months to March. Despite this the TUC is still warning that the job outlook for the young is its toughest since 1994.
"We are in labour market limbo with figures pointing to marginal improvements in unemployment and jobseeker confidence," said John Salt, director, totaljobs.com.
"Yet how much of this is down to the Olympics acting as a temporary and regional fillip, distorting a market that is still contracting and still beset by uncertainty, will only be known at the end of the year.
"Indicating that this is the case is a stubborn youth unemployment figure storing up problems for the future, very high levels of part-time work as well as underemployment, and a very patchy regional picture."
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