Unemployment

Wage growth also saw a second consecutive month of decline as earnings remained below their pre-financial crisis peak.

The number of people in work rose by 31,000 to 32.78 million in the three months to July, the Office for National Statistics said.

The number of people in employment rose by 115,000 to 32.81 million in the three months to June, but unemployment also increased.

The UK employment rate for women is now at 71%.

Average earnings increased by 3.4% in the year to January, down by 0.1% on the previous month but still outpacing inflation.

Average earnings increased by 3.4% in the year to December, the highest for a decade, outpacing inflation.

Employment increased by 79,000 in the three months to October to 32.4 million, the highest since records began in 1971.

The latest statistics also reveal a record number of people working.

32.4 million people are now in work, according to ONS figures.

Job vacancies increased by 20,000 to a record high of 829,000, while average earnings increased by 2.4% in the year to June.