Britain's unemployment rate showed no signs of shifting from its current run of stability at the start of 2007.
The number of unemployed people fell by 3,000 in the quarter ending in January this year, remaining unchanged at 5.5 per cent.
This contrasts with the increase in the number of people in employment, up by 18,000 people to 29.02 million in the November-January period.
However the annual unemployment rate over the year increased by 0.4 per cent, while the employment rate for people of working age – the government's preferred measure – fell by 0.1 per cent both quarterly and annually.
Despite this, employment minister Jim Murphy said today's labour market data represented a "strong set of figures".
"Today's figures show that we are delivering on our commitment to provide employment opportunities for all - more people are coming off benefits and there are more job vacancies available," he said.
"David Freud's review of our welfare to work strategy, published last week, will help us build on this success and tackle the challenges ahead of us."
The claimant count dropped by 3,800 on the previous month, having fallen for seven out of the last eight months.
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