UK unemployment rate remains above 5 percent

The latest employment figures released today by the UK's Office for National Statistics reveal a continued rise in the unemployment rate. In October-December the figure rose to 5.1 percent - 1.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier and 0.4 percentage points higher than the previous quarter. The ONS says an estimated 1.74 million people were unemployed in the period.

The rate of 5.1 percent is the highest in five years. As our infographic shows though, the rate is still yet to reach the levels seen in the aftermath of the financial crisis which peaked at 8.5 percent in 2011. The high of 10.7 percent back in early 1993 is thankfully also some way off.