Record number of people now in work in UK
12 November 2014
There are now a record 30.8m people in work in the UK with the employment rate back to pre-recession levels, according to a government statement.
Wed, 12 Nov 2014
There are now a record 30.8m people in work in the UK with the employment rate back to pre-recession levels, according to a government statement.
UK Labour Market July to September 2014 figures released today [12 November] by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that 694,000 more people are in jobs compared to this time last year.
Employment increased by 112,000 compared to the previous three-month period, with the vast majority of the increase coming from people in full-time jobs.
Industry figures though say it is not all good news.
Ian Burke, director of job board totaljobs.com, said that although unemployment was falling, some employers were struggling to fill roles because of skills shortages.
Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, added that while the figures were good news, it “doesn’t necessarily mean British business is back to its best”.
Brown continued: “We are still seeing a slowdown in salary growth and while the reins are being pulled on take home pay, the economy will continue to trot along, rather than gallop. If we are to tackle long-term unemployment a balance must be found between what employers can afford to pay and what employees can afford to live on.”
Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said real wages were beginning to grow though and employers were increasing salaries to retain top talent.
He said according to Adzuna's data, vacancy creation is starting to slow: “The figures also incorporate a host of Britons forced to become self-starters as they can’t find a position in the workplace, as well as numerous people employed on unreliable zero-hours contracts.”
He added: “The outlook is not as sunny as it appears on first glance.”
The ONS figures also show:
There are now a record 30.8m people in work in the UK with the employment rate back to pre-recession levels, according to a government statement.
UK Labour Market July to September 2014 figures released today [12 November] by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that 694,000 more people are in jobs compared to this time last year.
Employment increased by 112,000 compared to the previous three-month period, with the vast majority of the increase coming from people in full-time jobs.
Industry figures though say it is not all good news.
Ian Burke, director of job board totaljobs.com, said that although unemployment was falling, some employers were struggling to fill roles because of skills shortages.
Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, added that while the figures were good news, it “doesn’t necessarily mean British business is back to its best”.
Brown continued: “We are still seeing a slowdown in salary growth and while the reins are being pulled on take home pay, the economy will continue to trot along, rather than gallop. If we are to tackle long-term unemployment a balance must be found between what employers can afford to pay and what employees can afford to live on.”
Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said real wages were beginning to grow though and employers were increasing salaries to retain top talent.
He said according to Adzuna's data, vacancy creation is starting to slow: “The figures also incorporate a host of Britons forced to become self-starters as they can’t find a position in the workplace, as well as numerous people employed on unreliable zero-hours contracts.”
He added: “The outlook is not as sunny as it appears on first glance.”
The ONS figures also show:
- There were 22.52m people working full time, 589,000 more than for a year earlier.
- There were 8.27m people working part time, 105,000 more than for a year earlier.
- There were 1.96m unemployed people, 115,000 fewer than for April to June 2014 and 529, 000 fewer than for a year earlier.
- Pay including bonuses for employees in Great Britain was 1% higher than a year earlier. Pay excluding bonuses for employees in Great Britain was 1.3% higher than a year earlier.
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