Unemployment has fallen to 7.1%, the Office for National Statistics has reported.

The unemployment rate for September to November 2013 has fallen by 0.5 percentage points from June to August 2013, with 2.32 million people unemployed.

The Bank of England’s previous forward guidance said that a base rate increase would not be considered until the unemployment rate fell to 7%, although this guidance came with caveats.

Damian Riley, director of business intelligence at HML, said: “It has certainly been a shock to see the unemployment rate fall to 7.1% so early in the year. HML’s recent research forecast that the unemployment rate would not fall to the seven per cent threshold until the beginning of 2015.

“With such a rapid decline, the market anticipates that governor Mark Carney will publically announce a lower unemployment rate trigger. When the time comes for the base rate to rise, this will be controlled and in small increments. However, our research shows that a 1.25% increase over a year could push 30,000 extra mortgage accounts into arrears.

“Inflation may have fallen to the Bank’s 2% target, but wage growth still stands at less than 1%. Household finances are still going backwards, albeit at a slower pace. It is still imperative that mortgage customers who are concerned about repayment affordability should engage with their lender at the first opportunity.”