Unemployment drops to 7.7%

There is still a long way to go when it comes to Britain's economic recovery, Prime Minister David Cameron said today.

Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said: "Of course it's welcome when unemployment falls but we have got a long way to go.

"As the Chancellor said, 'We are turning the corner'. But we have got to build this recovery. We have got to go on backing businesses, we have got to go on dealing with our debts.

"There must be absolutely no complacency as we do everything we can to make sure this recovery delivers for hard-working people."

But Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Government was guilty of "total complacency and total hubris at a time when even today unemployment is rising in half of the country."

Today's 7.7% unemployment figure edges slightly closer to the 7% mark at which Bank of England governor Mark Carney said he would consider a rise in interest rates.

The 80,000 jobs added between May and July chips away at the 750,000 new positions thought to be needed to trigger a rates rise.

Mr Carney's forward guidance was issued in an attempt to provide a level of certainty to markets.

Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said:

Vince Cable's economy warning is 'embarrassing slap-down to Osborne'

This regional unemployment table between May and July 2013 shows the total unemployed, change on previous quarter and the unemployment rate.

The North East recorded the highest unemployment rate while the South East was the lowest at 5.8%.

• North East: 136,000, plus 5,000, 10.4%
• North West: 285,000, plus 13,000, 8.3%
• Yorkshire and The Humber: 245,000, plus 1,000, 8.9%
• East Midlands: 168,000, minus 11,000, 7.4%
• West Midlands: 267,000, plus 7,000, 9.8%
• East of England: 211,000, plus 3,000, 6.7%

• London: 359,000, minus 7,000, 8.3%
• South East: 267,000, minus 29,000, 5.8%
• South West: 167,000, minus 1,000, 6.2%
• Wales: 118,000, minus 7,000, 8%
• Scotland: 203,000, plus 10,000, 7.4%
• Northern Ireland: 60,000, minus 8,000, 6.9%

The number of people working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job has surged to 1.45 million - the highest since records began in 1992. It has doubled over the past five years, the ONS said.

The number of 16 to 24-year-olds unemployed was up 9,000 from February to April 2013, while the total number of young people in employment fell 77,000 to 2.6 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The number of unemployed people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in August fell by 32,600 to 1.4 million, the lowest figure since February 2009.

That figure translates to a rate of 4.2%, down 0.1% from July.

The aide to shadow chancellor Ed Balls, Alex Belardinelli, has given a cautious welcome to the fall in unemployment:

Prime Minister David Cameron said the fall in UK unemployment was "welcome news":

Read: Unemployment falls by 24,000

Total pay for British employees between May and July 2013 rose by 1.1% compared to a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said.

The rise is behind inflation meaning wages are still falling in real terms.