Though there was a small, 7,000, rise in the Labour Force Survey measure of unemployment in the November-January period, to 2.52 million, these were still strong numbers.

Employment rose by 131,000 in the latest three months and was up 590,000 on a year earlier. Full-time jobs rose by 195,000 in the latest three months (there was a 64,000 drop in part-time) and private sector jobs by 151,000 (there was a 20,000 drop in public sector employment). The claimant count fell in February.

Pay, however, continued weak, up just 1.2%. More here.