The UK's labour market remains resilient

The so-called ILO rate of unemployment, the government's preferred measure, now stands at 4.8%.

And the number claiming jobseekers allowance in March also fell, down 4,200 people to 882,200 - its lowest level since September 1975.

The ILO figure is at its lowest level since records began in 1984.

REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATES North East 5.8% North West 4.7% Yorkshire/Humber 5.1% East Midlands 4.5% West Midlands 5.4% East 3.3% London 6.8% South East 3.9% South West 3.1% Wales 4.6% Scotland 5.6% Northern Ireland 5.2%

However, average earnings grew by 4.9% in the year to February, up from January's revised figure of 4.7%.

With unemployment at a low level and earnings rising, almost all economists expect the Bank of England to raise interest rates next month, probably by another quarter of a percentage point.

"There is always inflation risk potential, but I don't think on the basis of these numbers we need to panic just yet," said Peter Dixon, an economist with Commerzbank.

Back to work

The buoyant UK economy has not just resulted in lower unemployment rates.

The number of so-called "economically inactive" people is falling as well, suggesting that demand for workers is drawing in people that had stopped looking for a job.

London continues to have the highest rate of unemployment, at 6.8%, while the labour market in the South West was tightest with an unemployment rate of just 3.1%.

The UK now has one of the lowest unemployment rates among industrialised countries.