Press Association summary:

Average earnings increased by 3.4% in the year to November, the highest for a decade, outpacing inflation.

Employment increased by 141,000 in the three months to November to 32.5m, the highest since records began in 1971.

Unemployment also increased, up by 8,000 to 1.37m, although the total is 68,000 lower than a year ago, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The UK’s jobless rate is now 4%, down by 0.2% on a year ago, and the lowest since 1975.

The ONS said average weekly earnings, adjusted for price inflation, increased by 1.2%, including bonuses, compared with a year earlier.

The increase in both unemployment and employment is explained by the UK’s rising population, and fewer people classed as economically inactive, which includes those on long-term sick leave, students, and people who have given up looking for a job.

The number of economically inactive people fell by 100,000 in the latest quarter to 8.6 million, a rate of 21%, the lowest on record.