Unemployment rate in Britain dropped to 8.3 percent in the three months to February, marking the first fall since May last year, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday.

The official figures showed that unemployment fell by 35,000 to 2.65 million in the December-February period.

The unemployment rate was 8.3 percent of the economically active population in the period, down from a 12-year high of 8.4 percent in the previous three-month period.

Youth unemployment rate for those between 16 and 24 years old was 22.2 percent in the three months to February, down by 0.1 percentage point from three months to November 2011.

According to the ONS, the number of unemployed men fell by 43,000 to 1.51 million, but the number of unemployed women increased by 8,000 to 1.14 million, the highest figure since the three months to November 1987.

The number of people unemployed for up to 12 months fell by 61,000 on the quarter to 1.77 million, but the number of people unemployed for over 12 months increased by 26,000 to reach 883,000, the highest figure since the three months to September 1996.

There were 1.61 million people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) in March 2012, an increase of 3,600 on February. The number of people claiming JSA for up to six months fell by 13,100 on the month to 893,800.

According to the ONS, total pay (including bonuses) rose by 1.1 percent on a year earlier, down by 0.2 percent on the three months to January 2012, while regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.6 percent on a year earlier, unchanged on the three months to January 2012.