Britain's jobless claims declined more-than-expected in August to the lowest since February 2009, official data showed Wednesday.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance decreased 32,600 to 1.40 million, the smallest since February 2009, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had expected a fall of 21,000.

Consequently, the claimant count rate for August edged down to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent in July. The rate was expected to remain unchanged at 4.3 percent.

The unemployment rate for three months to July came in at 7.7 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from February to April period. The rate was slightly below the expected 7.8 percent.

Average earnings excluding bonus payments rose 1 percent during May to July compared with the same period a year earlier. Including bonus payments, earnings climbed 1.1 percent.