Unemployment fell in the three months to November in news that may please accountancy graduates seeking their first full-time position.
The decline was the first since May 2008, with the number of jobless Brits falling by 7,000 and Jobseeker's Allowance claimers falling by 15,200 over the quarter.
It means the total number of people in the UK without work stands at around 2.46 million and reflects the recent trend in the market, according to Institute for Employment Studies research fellow Thomas Usher.
"We've been looking at the figures on people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for a few months," he said.
"Those have been declining already and they are slightly more up-to-date figures."
Mr Usher added that it appears that "the worst is over" in the employment market, but warned that graduates should expect the recovery to happen slowly.
He explained that even if business picks up, companies still have a lot of spare manpower on their hands and are likely to make use of this rather than recruit new staff.
