LONDON (AFP) - British unemployment dropped faster-than-expected to a rate of 7.1 per cent in the three months to the end of November, official data showed on Wednesday.

It fell from a rate of 7.4 per cent in the quarter through to the end of October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement amid growing signs that economic recovery is gathering speed.

The Bank of England, under governor Mark Carney, has stated that it will consider raising its key interest rate from a record-low 0.50 per cent once the unemployment rate falls to seven per cent.

"The unemployment rate for September to November 2013 was 7.1 per cent of the economically active population," the ONS said in a statement.