Unemployment falls to 10-year low post-Brexit despite Treasury’s ‘Project Fear’ warning quitting EU would cost 500,000 jobs

UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen to its lowest level for a decade in the months since Brexit despite dire warnings from the Treasury that quitting EU would cost 500,000 jobs.

Before the referendum the so-called ‘Project Fear’ document claimed a vote to leave would represent an “immediate and profound shock to our economy” and push us into another recession.

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But today’s figures from the ONS show the jobless total was cut by 37,000 in the quarter to September to 1.6 million.

This gives an unemployment rate of 4.8%, down from 5.3% for a year earlier and the lowest since July to September 2005.

And the number of people in work has jumped by 461,000 over the past year to a near-record high of just under 32 million, meaning an employment rate of 74.5% - the highest since records began in 1971.

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The ONS also reported that the EU referendum had so far had little impact on the number of EU workers in the UK labour force.

The number of non-UK nationals working in the UK increased by 241,000 over the past year to 3.4 million.

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The figure has risen by almost a million since 1997, with the proportion of non-UK nationals working in the UK increasing from 3.7% to 10.9%.

There were 2.3 million EU nationals working in the UK in the latest quarter, up by 232,000 on a year ago, but lower than the increase on the previous year.

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But there are also signs the jobs market might be "cooling", as the number of Britons signing on for unemployment benefit jumped by almost 10,000 last month

ONS statistician David Freeman said: "Unemployment is at its lowest for more than 10 years and the employment rate remains at a record high.

"Nonetheless, there are signs that the labour market might be cooling, with employment growth slowing."

Other data showed that average earnings increased by 2.3% in the year to October, unchanged from the previous month.

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Responding to the figures the Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: "Yet again we have a strong set of figures, with employment continuing to run at a record high and unemployment falling to an 11-year low.

"Growth is being fuelled by full-time professional jobs while wages are continuing to perform strongly, which underlines the resilience of the UK labour market.

"The measures we have taken have put our economy in a position of strength, and we will work to ensure more people can benefit from these opportunities as we build a country that works for everyone."

The Government also highlighted figures showing that youth unemployment is down by almost 350,000 since 2010, while the number of disabled people in work has increased by 590,000 in the past three years.