BRITAIN is suffering from a “weak economy,” Jeremy Corbyn has insisted as the Labour leader welcomed the fall in UK unemployment but highlighted how other figures showed real-term wages were now lower than 10 years ago.

In a rowdy Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Corbyn opted to cover a range of issues from wages to welfare reforms and public sector pay to the debt of young people.

He told MPs: "Under this Prime Minister we have a weak economy. UK growth is currently the worst amongst the 10 largest EU economies.

"We're the only major economy where wages are lower today than they were 10 years ago, even without the risks posed by this Government's bungled Brexit negotiations."

Noting how Britain now suffered from weak growth, falling productivity, falling investment, falling wages, the Labour leader asked: "How does the Prime Minister have the nerve to come here and talk about a strong economy when the figures show the exact opposite?"

Mrs May cited the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as stating the UK had the "most efficient accessible healthcare system, fiscal sustainability has improved, important steps are being taken to improve educational outcomes, and jobs and earnings are good".

She went on: "That's what OECD says about the strong economy under this Conservative Government.

“The way to get a weak economy is to borrow £500 billion like the Labour Party is proposing. The way to get a weak economy is to ensure you are promising spending after spending after spending and people are going to have to pay for that."

The PM said there was a need to "deal with the deficit, get our debts down and deal with Labour's great recession which put us into this position in the first place".

Mr Corbyn was cheered by Tory MPs after stating: "I welcome today's fall in unemployment."

He paused before adding: "But, the same figures show that real wages are lower today than they were 10 years ago.

"Most people in work are worse off. Does the Prime Minister really believe falling wages are the sign of a strong economy?"

Mrs May replied: "You may have actually done a first in the House of Commons today because it is the first time, certainly since I became Prime Minister, that you've actually welcomed a fall in unemployment."

Outside Parliament, the Government also came under pressure to order an immediate end to the cap on public sector pay after the figures showing prices were rising faster than wages for the sixth month in a row were released.

Unions warned many workers faced a "toxic mix" this winter of falling wages and a freeze of in-work benefits.

Len McCluskey, the Unite General Secretary, said: "While any fall in unemployment is positive, Government minsters must get a grip of the continued squeeze in incomes that is leaving many families struggling to make ends meet.

"The Government must be mindful that its continued proclamations of a jobs miracle will go down like the proverbial lead balloon among people piecing two and three badly-paid, insecure jobs together to get by."

Frances O'Grady, the TUC’s General Secretary, said pay packets were taking a "hammering".

She added: "The Chancellor must help struggling families when he gives his Budget next month. This means ditching the artificial pay restrictions on nurses, midwives and other public sector workers and investing in jobs that people can live on."

But as the latest official figures showed that UK unemployment had fallen to a 12-year low with the jobless total cut by 52,000 in the quarter to August to 1.4 million, Damian Hinds, the Employment minister, declared: "Our economy is helping to create full time, permanent jobs which are giving people across the UK the chance of securing a reliable income.

"We've boosted the income for people on the lowest pay by increasing the national living wage and delivered the fastest pay rise for the lowest earners in 20 years."