LONDON, May 12 (UPI) -- The number of jobless people in Britain fell by 48,000 to 1.41 million during the first quarter, the lowest in 20 years, the government reported Wednesday.
The British Office for National Statistics also announced average earnings rose 5.2 percent during March, up by 0.3 percent from the previous month, Sky News reported.
Some analysts greeted the news with some apprehension, saying the new numbers, the best in three years, might produce fears about wage inflation, Sky News said.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in April fell by 6,000 to 876,300, for a jobless rate of 2.9 percent, the lowest since 1975.
The negative news was that jobs in Britain's manufacturing sector continued to fall, down by 101,000 during the past year to 3.4 million, the lowest since records began in 1978.
