UK unemployment hits seven-year low

Unemployment in the UK dropped to 5.3 percent between July and September, the lowest it’s been since the second quarter of 2008, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The number of people out of work during the three-month period decreased by 103,000 to 1.75 million. Average salaries, including bonuses, increased 3 percent y-o-y between July and September, according to the data. The country’s manufacturing output was up by by 0.8 percent in September, according to the ONS, which was the biggest monthly increase since April 2014 but 0.6 percent less than September 2014.

“While manufacturing contracted in the last quarter, there are signs that some parts of industry at least were mounting a comeback after a summer lull,” said Lee Hopley, chief economist at the Engineering Employers Federation. “Another disappointing set of trade figures for manufacturing show that these effects are already being felt, with a significant fall in goods exports to China over the past three months.”