'UK back on path to prosperity' says minister Esther McVey

The number of people out of work in the UK has fallen by 77,000 to a five-year low of 2.24m in the three months to February, according to official figures.

The unemployment rate now stands at 6.9% of the adult working population, the Office for National Statistics has said.

Average earnings in the three months to February grew 1.7% compared with the year before.

Employment Minister Esther McVey said government policies were putting the UK ''back on the path to prosperity''.