Unemployment down 76,000 as earnings increase

One of the key issues in today's campaigning was the economy as unemployment figures hit a seven year low.

David Cameron hailed it a "jobs miracle", claiming his government had created more vacancies in the last five years than the rest of the EU combined.

But Labour hit back saying most of those jobs were only part-time.

ITV News Editor James Mates is travelling with David Cameron and the Conservative campaign.

Business is booming for small firms, industry leaders have said as they attribute another fall in unemployment to increased recruitment from growing companies.

Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, John Allan, said the drop of 76,000 jobless was in line with his expectations.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)'s employment chief Neil Carberry welcomed news that average earnings were up on last year - but warned productivity needed to rise to have a real impact on salaries.

Britain is the "job creation powerhouse" of the West, the Liberal Democrats have said, as they welcomed figures showing a 76,000-strong drop in unemployment.

Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, claimed his party had brought the "common sense, fairness and financial discipline" which helped the economy recover.

Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed figures showing employment is at a record high.

The Conservative leader warned that the progress would "all be put at risk" if Labour came to power after the election on May 7.

Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, Rachel Reeves, has criticised the government for overseeing the "biggest fall in wages since 1874".

She claimed that despite the numbers in work hitting a record high of 31 million, and average earnings up on last year, people were still bringing in less than they were before the last general election.

The north-west of England celebrated the biggest fall in the number of people out of work in the three months to February, official figures reveal.

The region saw a fall of 20,000, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.6 per cent.

The south-west fared worst of the English regions, with an increase in unemployment of 7,000.

• North West: down 20,000 to 209,000 (5.9% unemployment rate)
• Yorkshire/Humber: down 17,000 to 166,000 (6.2%)
• South East: down 13,000 to 195,000 (4.2%)
• East Midlands: down 13,000 to 116,000 (4.9%)
• Wales: down 12,000 to 92,000 (6.2%)
• North East: down 11,000 to 100,000 (7.7%)
• London: down 10,000 to 287,000 (6.2%)
• West Midlands: down 1,000 to 172,000 (6.2%)
• East of England: up 1,000 to 154,000 (5%)
• Northern Ireland: up 3,000 to 53,000 (6%)
• South West: up 7,000 to 126,000 (4.6%)
• Scotland: up 9,000 to 167,000 (6%)

While Wales celebrate a 12,000 drop in unemployment, Scotland saw a rise of 9,000 and Northern Ireland saw 3,000 more people out of work.

Most people have seen "little to no evidence" of a rise in living standards, despite official figures showing average earnings are up, union chiefs have said.

As the Office for National Statistics reveals employment is at a record high of 31 million, Paul Kenny, general secretary oft he GMB union, said:

Business Secretary Vince Cable has welcomed official figures which show a record 31 million people in the UK are now in work.

He praised the Liberal Democrats' time in power for having "promoted economic recovery" which has also seen youth unemployment fall and wages rise.

Average earnings have shown an increase year-on-year, according to the Office of National Statistics - though figures suggest a monthly slowdown.

Income for the average worker was up by 1.7 per cent in the year to February, though this was 0.2 per cent down on January's figures.