Unemployment fell for the first time in 18 months, according to the Office for National Statistics. Under the Labour Force Survey (LFS) count, unemployment fell by 7,000 to 2.46 million in the three months to November. The fall was the first since March 2008. The jobless rate remained steady at 7.8% on the previous three-month period.

The fall in numbers was all down to male unemployment. The number of unemployed men fell by 20,000 to 1.51 million and the unemployment rate was down to 8.9%. However, the number of jobless women rose 13,000 to 949,000 and their unemployment rate was up to 6.6%.

The LFS count includes people who are looking for work but are not eligible for benefits and is the government’s preferred measure.

The claimant count fell for the second successive month. The count, which only includes those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, fell by 15,200 in December to 1.61 million.

The unemployment rate, however, was steady at 5.0% for the fourth month in a row.

Unemployed men on benefit numbered 1.17 million and their unemployment rate was down to 6.7%. The number of jobless women was down to 435,200, but their jobless rate remained at 2.9%.