UK unemployment falls unexpectedly to 4.9% since last summer

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Tuesday the rate of unemployment was 4.9% in February, the lowest level since last summer. This compares with 5.2% in the three months to January, a rate that economists had expected to also see in February.

The ONS said the fall was driven by a rise in inactivity, especially among students, which lifted by 70,000 in the quarter.

The number of job vacancies declined from 721,000 in the three months to February to 711,000 in March.