Unemployment rate fails to fall for Burnham

An expected drop in the unemployment rate has failed to materialise, dealing a setback to Andy Burnham’s hopes of reviving Britain’s ailing economy.Unemployment remained stuck at 4.9pc in the three months to June, while the number of payrolled employees fell by 13,000, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Economists had predicted that the unemployment rate would ease to 4.8pc.While the three-month figure was flat, monthly data showed a sharp increase at the end of the period. Unemployment jumped to 5.4pc in June, up from 4.6pc the previous month.That marked the highest reading since October 2020 and the biggest monthly jump in 13 years.Julian Jessop, at the Institute of Economic Affairs, described the latest jobs figures as “dire”. He said: “The unemployment rate r