The number of people out of work in the UK fell by 7,000 to 2.46 millionÔÇöthe first decline in unemployment figures since the three months to May 2008, official figures have confirmed.
Data from the UKÔÇÖs Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance for the three months to November 2009 to have shrunk, while the high rate of unemployment among young people also fell.
The claimant count measure of unemployment in December fell by 15,200, keeping the jobless rate at five per cent.
It marked the fastest monthly drop in claimants since April 2007.
The number of women on jobseeker's allowance fell by 3,500 in December to 435,000, the third consecutive month of decline since October. Meanwhile, the number of male claimants dropped by almost 12,000 to 1.7 million.
Average earnings grew 1.6 per cent in the period to the end of November, with earnings excluding bonuses growing at the same pace.
The figures will back up data due to be released next week that is expected to show the UK exited from the longest recession in history during the three months to the end of December last year.
The UK was the only major economy still in recession at that time, with the US, China, Japan, France and Germany all having reported growth during that period.
Output in the country contracted almost six per cent over six straight quarters
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown commented: ÔÇ£Our determination is to get the chances for everybody to get into work so that youth unemployment and long-term unemployment can be reduced very substantially.ÔÇØ
It is expected that the figures will help the Prime Minister, who is trailing behind rivals in opinion polls by around 10 percentage points and faces a general election in June.
However, while employment levels are stabilising, it is clear that companies are still reluctant to start re-hiring as they struggle to shake off the lasting effects of the recession.
