Unemployment for those of working age of between 16 to 64 dipped negligibly in the three months to February 2011 by 0.1 per cent.

The fall of 17,000 over the quarter to 2.48 million – equivalent to 7.8 per cent of the ‘economically active’ population - was not anticipated by many, given the large-scale public sector cuts brought in by the coalition government.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance increased by 700, however, between February and March 2011 to 1.45 million.

Male claimants fell by 4,400 on the month to 988,200 while the number of female claimants increased by 5,100 to 462,300.

Unemployment in the 16 to 24 age group was 963,000, with the jobless rate for young people remaining above 20 per cent.

Although the number of unemployed 16 to 24 years olds rose by 12,000 over the quarter, analysts had predicted that this figure would be higher.

Those who were economically inactive due to long-term illness fell by 48,000 to 2.17 million for the three months to the end of February. T

he ONS also said that the number people in employment rose by 143,000 to 29.23 million.