The moving-average rate dropped for the first time in one year. The number of employed rose for the second time in a row after drops registered since Q2 last year. The unemployment rate bottomed out at 7.5pc in the summer of 2008. The jobless rate for the 15-64 age group was 11.5pc in March-May, down from 11.8pc in February-April, in the second drop since Q4 2009. The number of unemployed in the 15-74 age group dropped by 13,700 from February-April to 483,200 and was up by 73,500 from a year earlier. The number of employed rose by 25,300 from February-April to 3,756,400 in March-May in the 15-74 age group . The number was down 23,500 in one year