The jobless rate fell and the number of employed rose in both age groups for the second consecutive three-month period. The number of unemployed as well as the jobless rate rose and the number of employed fell steadily between September-November 2010 and January-March this year. After months of decline, the activity rate in both age groups rose now for the second three-month period in a row, to 62.3pc. The number of unemployed in the 15-64 age group averaged 465,700 in March-May of 2011, falling 15,500 from the previous three-month period and down 17,300 in one year. The number of employed within the 15-64 age group rose 25,800 from February-April to 3,753,600, and was up 27,000 from a year earlier, KSH said. The drops in jobless numbers and the rise in employment numbers were similar in the 15-74 age group where the number of unemployed fell to 465,800 and the number of those employed rose to 3,785,500 in March-May. The employment rate in the 15-64 age group rose 0.4 percentage points as it did in the previous three-month period, to 55.4pc, and was also up 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. The activity rate of the 15-64 age group rose 0.2 percentage points from February-April, rising at the same pace as one month earlier, and was up 0.1 percentage points in one year. The activity rate reached a more than three-year peak at 62.9pc last summer before starting to slip last autumn. The annual average activity rate, at 62.4pc last year, was the highest since 1998. 15.2pc of those unemployed were between 15-24 years old, who are only limitedly present on the labour market. The unemployment rate in this age group was 25.0pc, down 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier. The jobless rate for the most active, 25-54 age group was 10.2pc, dropping 0.6 percentage points in one year. Of all unemployed, 50.3pc have been chasing jobs since one year or more, more than the 49.9pc measured in the preceding three months. The average period of unemployment was unchanged at 18.5 months, and was one month more than a year ago. Average unemployment in 2010 was 11.2pc, up 1.2 percentage points from 2009. The unemployment rate rose from a low of 7.5pc in the summer of 2008 to peak at 11.8pc in the first months of 2010. The drop which followed slowed since May-July.