Unemployment falling, wages rising: ONS
17 December 2014
Unemployment has continued to fall with 588,000 more people in work in the August to October 2014 period compared to last year, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Wed, 17 Dec 2014
Unemployment has continued to fall with 588,000 more people in work in the August to October 2014 period compared to last year, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures released today show there were 30.8m people in work during the period, 115,000 more than the previous three-month period.
However, the fall in unemployment numbers appears to be starting to slow – there were 1.96m unemployed people during the period, 63,000 fewer than the previous three-month period, which marks the smallest quarterly fall since July to September last year.
Pay was on the rise though. When comparing the August to October 2014 period to the same period last year, pay had increased by 1.4% including bonuses, or by 1.6% excluding bonuses.
Job board totaljobs.com director Ian Burke said in a statement that the rising employment figures could be driven by “short-term and insecure work over the festive season”.
He continued to say it was “vital” that people in seasonal jobs gained the required skills and relevant experience to secure long-term employment.
City & Guilds Group chief executive Chris Jones said while it was encouraging to see so many people in work compared to the same time last year, “the figures only tell part of the story”.
“If we are seeing more people in work, why are we still seeing skills gaps in a number of different industries? And there are still disgracefully high numbers of young people out of work, with seemingly little change since the summer. This is no cause for celebration,” he said in a statement.
“If we are to build a truly robust economy, with opportunities for meaningful employment for everyone, we need better long-term planning of employment policy that takes into account where the skills gaps of the future will be.”
Adecco Group UK&I group sales director Greet Brosens agreed more needed to be done to ensure companies can get the skills they need.
She said in a statement: “The Autumn Statement, delivered earlier this month, already indicated that we are nearing a healthier and more balanced labour market, but more needs to be done to ensure that businesses have access to the skills they need.
Many sectors, such as manufacturing, engineering and technology, still struggle to find the right people to fill roles. Whether we’re talking about experienced staff or young people entering the workforce, the focus should be on ‘employable skills.”
• See also today's Analysis on the latest employment figures.
Unemployment has continued to fall with 588,000 more people in work in the August to October 2014 period compared to last year, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures released today show there were 30.8m people in work during the period, 115,000 more than the previous three-month period.
However, the fall in unemployment numbers appears to be starting to slow – there were 1.96m unemployed people during the period, 63,000 fewer than the previous three-month period, which marks the smallest quarterly fall since July to September last year.
Pay was on the rise though. When comparing the August to October 2014 period to the same period last year, pay had increased by 1.4% including bonuses, or by 1.6% excluding bonuses.
Job board totaljobs.com director Ian Burke said in a statement that the rising employment figures could be driven by “short-term and insecure work over the festive season”.
He continued to say it was “vital” that people in seasonal jobs gained the required skills and relevant experience to secure long-term employment.
City & Guilds Group chief executive Chris Jones said while it was encouraging to see so many people in work compared to the same time last year, “the figures only tell part of the story”.
“If we are seeing more people in work, why are we still seeing skills gaps in a number of different industries? And there are still disgracefully high numbers of young people out of work, with seemingly little change since the summer. This is no cause for celebration,” he said in a statement.
“If we are to build a truly robust economy, with opportunities for meaningful employment for everyone, we need better long-term planning of employment policy that takes into account where the skills gaps of the future will be.”
Adecco Group UK&I group sales director Greet Brosens agreed more needed to be done to ensure companies can get the skills they need.
She said in a statement: “The Autumn Statement, delivered earlier this month, already indicated that we are nearing a healthier and more balanced labour market, but more needs to be done to ensure that businesses have access to the skills they need.
Many sectors, such as manufacturing, engineering and technology, still struggle to find the right people to fill roles. Whether we’re talking about experienced staff or young people entering the workforce, the focus should be on ‘employable skills.”
• See also today's Analysis on the latest employment figures.
