Record rise in number at work in UK

A record rise in the number of people in work has helped unemployment fall to a five-year low but Britain’s workers have been squeezed by a dramatic slowdown in pay growth.

The jobless rate dropped to 6.6% in the three months to April, a level it has not equalled since January 2009, figures released yesterday showed.

UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne hailed the progress as an important step towards the goal of full employment, while chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander said: “Britain is bouncing back.”