Unemployment rate drops to 5.5% and wages rise 2.2%, according to ONS

The employment rate was 73.5 per cent, the highest level since records began in 1971

The unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, while wages were up a greater-than-expected 2.2 per cent according to ONS figures today that will be read as a Conservative economic victory.

Unemployment was down from 5.6 per cent in the previous quarter and 6.8% a year earlier, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Meanwhile, the employment rate - the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 in work - was 73.5 per cent, the highest level since records began in 1971.

Wage growth also hit a milestone, with average weekly earnings up by 2.2 per cent, excluding bonuses - the quickest growth rate for nearly four years.

Economists had expected growth of 1.9 per cent.

The private sector, particularly construction workers, saw much of the growth in March.

Total pay, including bonuses, was 1.9 per cent higher versus the first quarter of 2014. The figures cover the traditional bonus period for the banking and financial services industries.