THE unemployment rate has fallen to four per cent, with a higher proportion of black and ethnic minorities in work than ever before.

As students in England and Wales await their A-Level results today, the proportion of young people who are unemployed and not in full-time education is at a record low of 4.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, there is also a record number of older people in work – more than 10.2 million.

Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “With the unemployment rate falling further to just four per cent, and youth unemployment down more than 45 per cent since 2010, school leavers this week can look forward to a growing jobs market, improving the prospects for their future careers.

“In fact the UK’s vibrant jobs market is benefiting people across the board. Record rates of ethnic minority people in work also show that more families across our society are benefiting from the security of a job, with wages also on the increase.

“We have some of the most creative, innovative and hard-working young people in the world and this summer I’ve been urging them to take on a summer job, gaining soft skills – or, as I call them, essential skills - for their future careers.”

Minister of State for Employment Alok Sharma said: “With the unemployment rate at a 43-year low, it is also very good that we are seeing wages continuing to outpace inflation for the fifth month in a row.

“We’ve backed businesses to create jobs and reformed welfare to make work pay, and thanks to the Government’s policies and employers’ confidence in the British economy we have seen more than 3.3 million more people employed in our country since 2010.

“More than 75 per cent of these people are employed in permanent jobs and full-time jobs and more than 70 per cent in higher-level occupations which pay higher wages.”