Unemployment has fallen to its lowest level for a year after a big jump in the number of people in work, according to figures released on Wednesday.

The jobless total fell by 46,000 in the quarter to June to 2.56 million, an unemployment rate of eight per cent.

The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance last month was 1.59 million, down by 5,900 on June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Most of the quarterly fall in unemployment was recorded in London, suggesting a big jobs boost from the Olympic Games.

Average earnings increased by 1.6 per cent in the year to June, up by 0.1 per cent on the previous month.

Other figures showed that the number of part-time workers has reached a record high of 8.07 million while those working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job is 1.42 million, the highest figure since records began in 1992.

Youth unemployment fell by 4,000 to just over a million.