Britain's unemployment rate fell to 4.7 per cent in the three months to August, according to official figures. The drop took forecasters by surprise, since many had expected the jobless count to rise or hold steady. Data from the Office for National Statistics suggest recruitment held up better than feared over the summer months. Below the headline number sits a stubborn problem, because youth joblessness continues to worry economists and policymakers. School and college leavers have been finding it harder to secure entry-level work in recent months. Employers have frequently blamed rising costs, from wages to national insurance, for slowing their hiring plans. For the government, the surprise improvement offers a rare piece of good news at a time when the economy has drawn criticism. Whether the dip signals a lasting turnaround or a temporary blip should become clear in the next few releases of labour data.