The unemployment rate has stayed flat at 7.8 per cent for the months of April to June 2013, according to the ONS. There are 4,000 fewer unemployed people than there were in the months of January to March this year.
The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 has risen by 0.1 percentage point over the same period, to 71.5 per cent.
The unemployment rate has taken on a new significance in the last month, since the Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced that the Bank would be targeting a rate of 7 per cent as part of its new forward guidance plans.
But, despite a widespread narrative that unemployment is consistently falling, this is now the seventh straight report in which unemployment has been higher than its recent low. The level seems to have stagnated around 7.8 per cent, leaving Carney in no fear of having to live up to his promise any time soon.
There is better news, of sorts, in the figures for earnings. Total pay rose by 2.1 per cent in the twelve months to June, up 0.3 percentage points compared to the last report. It remains 0.8 per cent below inflation, making this the 41st straight report in which real wages have declined year-on-year:
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