The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that UK unemployment has fallen by 5,000. Data gathered by the ONS indicated that 2.51 million people were out of work in the three months to April. The jobless rate was unchanged from three months earlier, at 7.8%. A surprise 8,600 people came off Jobseeker’s Allowance in May from a month earlier to 1.51 million, which is at its lowest level in two years. Throughout the UK, a record 29.7 million people are now in work.Despite the promising figures, earnings provoked a heated discussion during Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament today, where it was highlighted that the purchasing power of wage earners was still the underlying issue as the 1.3% jump in total earnings in the three months to April was still well below the rate of inflation, with consumer prices up 2.4% in the year to April. David Cameron said the figures were a sign that the economy was improving. “They show employment, the number of people in work in our country, going up, they show unemployment going down and the claimant count, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit, has fallen for the seventh month in a row.” However, Ed Miliband said the reality was average earnings were not rising fast enough and many people in the UK were struggling.The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.Setfords Solicitors are a national full service law firm, with employment law solicitors in Ascot and across the country.