Unemployment rate at record low despite stall in private sector hiring

Almost three quarters of UK working-age population employed with latest increase mainly due to rise in self-employment

Unemployment dropped to its lowest rate since 2005 in April, to a level which without the looming Brexit vote would set off interest rate warning bells at the Bank of England. .

The unemployment rate fell to 5% from 5.1% in March, while the number of jobs in the economy jumped 55,000 from March to set a record high employment rate of 74.2%. Once the jobless rate falls below 5%, the Bank believes wage pressures start to build.