* However, 1.4million are working part-time and want a full-time job
The economy is expected to return to growth this week as figures suggested Britain is creating jobs at a faster rate than the United States.
If predictions prove correct, the end of the longest double-dip recession since the Second World War will be a much-needed boost to Chancellor George Osborne.
It comes just days after employment figures reached an all-time high.
The total number of those in work has risen by 1.75 per cent, or 510,000 jobs, in the past year to 29.59million – the highest since records began in 1971, according to the Office for National Statistics.
That increase outpaced the 1.37 per cent gain in employment registered in the US
It also adds weight to the argument that Britain’s economic situation is far better than troubled eurozone countries such as Spain and Greece, where 25 per cent of the population is unemployed.
However, 1.4million are working part-time but would like a full-time job. Gross domestic product figures due on Thursday are likely to show the economy has grown by between 0.4 and 0.8 per cent.
Chris Williamson of financial data experts Markit, said: ‘GDP is expected to have rebounded sharply in the third quarter.’ He added that the Olympics and fewer bank holidays in this quarter will have helped the positive trend.
Experts’ estimates of growth in the three months July, August and September range from zero to 1 per cent, with an average of 0.6 per cent. Consumer confidence has risen but there are fears over prices in 2013, when higher energy bills threaten to push up inflation, a survey by business advisers Deloitte found.
Meanwhile, a report from accountants Ernst & Young found weak growth had forced up the number of profit warnings from firms during the third quarter – its highest level since 2008.
Source: Daily Mail
