David Cameron has welcomed the "encouraging" fall in unemployment and called for an apology for Labour for its predictions of poor economic performance.

The UK unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level since 2009, as the number of people out of work fell by 99,000 to 2.39 million in the three months to October.

However, Mr Cameron warned against complacency, telling MPs during the last prime minister's questions of 2013 that "there is still work to do to get our country back to work".

Labour leader Ed Miliband welcomed the latest employment figures, during the exchanges on 18 December 2013, but he said the PM had no answer to the "cost of living crisis".

Mr Miliband said more people are working part-time because they cannot get the hours they need, and told the Commons that wages were falling while household bills on energy and childcare rose.

The prime minister responded by telling MPs that 70% of the new jobs created since the 2010 general election are full-time jobs.

He said he wanted to see more money in people's pockets and that the only way to do that is to stick with the government's economic plan.

But Mr Miliband attacked the coalition government's record, which he said had failed to meet its fiscal targets, and told Mr Cameron he had failed at being prime minister.

The prime minister replied: "What you can't stand is this Christmas, the economy is growing, 1.2 million more people are in work, our exports are increasing, manufacturing is up, construction is doing better, the economy is getting stronger and Labour is getting weaker."

"It is time he apologised for his prediction of talking the economy down," Mr Cameron added.