Economists expected the jobless rate to increase slightly to 8.4%.
In figures, UK unemployment fell by 45,000 between January and March to 2.63m.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 13,700 to 1.59m in April, although the UK is officially back in recession.
Jeremy Cook, chief economist at foreign exchange company World First, said the drop was unexpected, but ongoing weakness in labour markets is an obvious concern.
“With attention once again focused on the prospect of further economic Armageddon, courtesy of the fresh pain in the eurozone, the decreased business confidence will see hiring levels remain low for a considerable time longer,” he said.
“The Bank of England’s latest inflation report is expected to show that wage growth, which disappointed at 0.6% vs consensus of 1%, remains significantly behind the UK inflation profile; working families will remain poorer in real terms for longer, in other words,” added Cook.
