However the ONS figures also show the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in May rose by 19,600 to 1.49 million. The rise was the biggest since July 2009.
Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said: “Today’s jobs figures showing another increase in the number of people in work and fewer unemployed will cheer the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of his speech at the Mansion House this evening. Signs that wage pressure is moderating in the face of higher inflation will also come as good news to the Bank of England. This should counter the case for a hike in interest rates later in the year.
“The only obvious concerns are that job vacancies appear to be drying up, while the number of people on Jobseeker’s Allowance is clearly on the rise, although the latter increase owes much to changes in the benefit regime and should not in itself be taken as a sign that the jobs market is starting to weaken.
“Another potential worry is the ongoing scale of job losses in the public sector. Public sector employment excluding the nationalised banks fell by 135,000 in the financial year 2010-11. This is many times bigger than the initial Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast at the time of last June’s emergency budget and closer to CIPD estimates at that time.”
Per Larsen, director of the group buying website for small businesses, Huddlebuy.co.uk, said: "These latest figures are a welcome victory in the battle against unemployment. But the war is far from over.
"The government is banking on the private sector riding to the rescue of the tens of thousands of public sector workers who'll soon be on the dole.
"But this idea of SMEs as knights in shining armour who will pluck the newly jobless from the dole queues is fanciful at best.
"Two thirds of the companies we surveyed said they would be more inclined to employ from the private sector rather than the public sector and three quarters of those polled said that public sector employees have a reputation, whether deserved or not, for being less dynamic and driven than the private sector. The reality is that former public sector employees could face a tough time finding new jobs."
