Unemployment has fallen to a ten year low, but there are signs the jobs market might be “cooling”.

The jobless total was cut by 37,000 in the quarter to September to 1.6 million, the lowest since 2006, giving an unemployment rate of 4.8 per cent.

Figures for people in work jumped by 461,000 in the past year to a near-record high of just under 32 million.

The employment rate of 74.5 per cent is the highest since records began in 1971 but the claimant count increased by 9,800 in September to 803,300, the third consecutive monthly rise.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the EU referendum had so far had little impact on the number of EU workers in the UK labour force.

The number of non-UK nationals working in the UK increased by 241,000 over the past year to 3.4 million.

The figure has risen by almost a million since 1997, with the proportion of non-UK nationals working in the UK increasing from 3.7 per cent to 10.9 per cent.

There were 2.3 million EU nationals working in the UK in the latest quarter, up by 232,000 on a year ago, but lower than the increase on the previous year.

Other data from the ONS showed that average earnings increased by 2.3 per cent in the year to October, unchanged from the previous month.

ONS statistician David Freeman said: “Unemployment is at its lowest for more than ten years and the employment rate remains at a record high.

“Nonetheless, there are signs that the labour market might be cooling, with employment growth slowing.”

Job vacancies have increased by 12,000 to 757,000, while the latest figures also showed a record 14.8 million women are in work.

Full-time employment has increased by 350,000 in the past year to 23.2 million, while part-time people in work has risen by 110,000 to 8.5 million.

The number of people classed as economically inactive, including those on long-term sick leave or who have given up looking for work, increased by 49,000 to 8.8 million.

Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: “Yet again we have a strong set of figures, with employment continuing to run at a record high and unemployment falling to an 11-year low.

“Growth is being fuelled by full-time professional jobs while wages are continuing to perform strongly.”