India, Nov. 12 -- The UK labor market remained weak in the third quarter as employment and vacancies declined notably ahead of general election.

The employment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 76 percent in the third quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday. Employment declined by 58,000 to 32.75 million in the third quarter.

The number of vacancies declined by 53,000 annually, which was the strongest fall since late 2009.

The ILO unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in the third quarter from 3.9 percent in the preceding period. Unemployment decreased by 23,000 to 1.31 million.

Average earnings including as well as excluding bonus, increased 3.6 percent each in the third quarter. This was slower than the ex...