UK unemployment rate edges down unexpectedly as number in work hits record high

Official figures show that Britain’s unemployment rate has fallen unexpectedly as the number of people in work hit a record high and rose past its pre-pandemic level for the first time. The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that the jobless rate fell to 3.8% in the three months to April, from 3.9% in the previous quarter. Most economists were expecting the rate to edge up to 4%. As the unemployment rate fell, the agency said, the country’s employment rate rose to 76% from 75.9%, with the number of people in work at an all-time high of 33.1 million.