British unemployment recorded the largest fall since 2001, with employment standing at the highest levels since records began in 1971, official figures released on Wednesday show.

The unemployment rate in Britain dropped to 7.8 percent in the three months to October, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous three months and down 0.5 from a year earlier.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of unemployed people was 2.51 million in the August-October period. Employment for those aged 16 to 64 was 71.2 percent, up 0.1 from the previous three months and up 0.9 on a yearly basis.

"There were 29.6 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 40,000 on May to July," said the ONS.

The statistics agency said the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by approximately 3,000 to 1.58 million in November.

Total pay in Britain rose 1.8 percent compared with the same period last year, continuing to lag behind inflation which stood at 2.7 percent in October.