Unemployment fell to its lowest rate in four and a half years in the three months to October, prompting fears that interest rates could rise earlier than expected.

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said in August that he will increase interest rates when unemployment falls to 7%, although unemployment has since fallen faster than expected.

There were just over 30 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 250,000 from May to July 2013. Meanwhile, there are more vacancies than at any time since summer 2008, before the economy crashed.