British jobless rate dips to 7.8 % - official data

Britain's unemployment rate fell to 7.8 per cent in the three months to the end of January, compared with the August-October period, official data showed yesterday.

"The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 (percentage points) on the quarter to reach 7.8 per cent for the three months to January 2010," the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

"This was the first quarterly fall in the unemployment rate since the three months to May 2008."

The number of unemployed people fell by 33,000 in the three months to the end of January to reach 2.45 million, it added.