Official figures show that the number of unemployed people in Britain fell by 48,000 between July and September to 2.47 million, the lowest level in two years and further evidence that the economic recovery is gathering speed.

The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the unemployment rate declined to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent.

The statistics office said the number of people with jobs was almost 30 million, an all-time high — but almost half of those are working part-time.

The unemployment rate is being closely watched by the Bank of England and its governor, Mark Carney. The bank has said it won't consider raising its main interest rate from its record low of 0.5 percent until unemployment hits 7 percent.