The number of working-age members of the populace in work reached 30.94m, the highest rate the ONS has recorded since it started measuring employment in 1971.
The figure will be a boost for the chancellor ahead of the final Budget of this parliament, but less positive news came in the form a slight decline in wage growth.
Regular wages rose 1.6% and wages including bonuses rose by 1.8% year-on-year, outstripping the inflation rate for a second quarter running.
But the headline figure was less than the 1.8% forecast by economists, and also down from 1.7% recorded in December.
The unemployment rate remained at 5.7% despite the number of people unemployed falling by 102,000 to 1.86m.
Meanwhile the number of people who have become “economically inactive” has increased on a year ago, rising by 14,000.
Unemployment among 16 to 24 year-olds also stayed high, falling by just 12,000 to 743,000 and rising from December to January.
The ONS said 22.2% of the age group is economically inactive, unchanged from last year.
