Employment rose by 54,000 (+0.3%) in December, the result of gains in full-time work. The unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 6.9%, as more people participated in the labour market.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, employment increased by 108,000 (+0.6%), the largest increase since the second quarter of 2010. This followed a gain of 62,000 (+0.3%) in the third quarter.

In the 12 months to December, employment gains totalled 214,000 or 1.2%, compared with a growth rate of 0.9% observed over the same period one year earlier. A year-end review is presented in a separate section below.