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- Nick Elvin
The number of people in work rose by 42,000 between May and July, although the figure for those out of work rose by 10,000, according to the latest Office for National Statistics employment figures.
The ONS data showed there were 31.09 million people in work in total, 42,000 more than for February to April this year and 413,000 more than for a year earlier. Of those, 22.74 million were working full-time (361,000 more than for a year earlier), while the number of people in part-time work rose by 52,000 to 8.36 million.
The employment rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work) was 73.5%, little changed compared with February to April 2015 but higher than for a year earlier (72.8%).
The stats also revealed that there were 1.82 million unemployed people (defined as those not in work but seeking and available to work), 10,000 more than for February to April 2015 but still 198,000 fewer than for a year earlier.
The unemployment rate (the proportion of the labour force who were unemployed) was 5.5%, unchanged compared with February to April 2015 but lower than for a year earlier (6.2%).
There were 8.99 million people aged from 16 to 64 who were economically inactive (not working and not seeking or available to work), 24,000 fewer than for February to April 2015 and 65,000 fewer than for a year earlier. The inactivity rate was 22.1%, similar to February to April 2015 but down slightly from a year earlier (22.3%).
In response to the latest figures, Ann Swain, Chief Executive at APSCo, said: “As I suspected, recent month-on-month dips in employment levels seem to have been nothing more than seasonal blips. According to official figures, job creation is now once again on the up, with a significant year-on-year increase in the number of people in work and a majority of these being full-time roles.
“The latest figures are representative of what the recruitment profession has witnessed over the past year. Greater confidence in hiring is reflected in the results of our latest UK Recruitment Index, which found that the vast majority (83%) of recruitment firms reported growth in net fee income or gross profit over the past 12 months.”
Comparing May to July 2015 with a year earlier, both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) for employees in Great Britain increased by 2.9%.
Swain added: “It is unsurprising that average wages grew at their fastest pace in more than six years. As the war for talent continues to rage, attractive remuneration packages are a powerful tool to aid attraction and promote retention. Furthermore, with inflation currently at 0%, this growth is more significant than it may seem at first glance.”
Meanwhile Katja Hall, CBI deputy director-general, had concerns about recent levels of growth in employment opportunities.
“It’s good to see employment on the up after the last few months, especially amongst our young people,” she said. “At the same time however, unemployment has edged up as the number of people actively seeking work rose, but jobs growth failed to keep up.
“Pay growth is ticking up, which combined with low inflation, means workers have more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. If we are to achieve sustainable higher wage growth, boosting productivity remains crucial.
“However, with the National Living Wage increasing pay for entry level workers by 7.5%, this is running well ahead of private sector regular pay growth, at 3.4%. To safeguard jobs, it’s crucial the Low Pay Commission can make an independent judgement on the future path of this new pay floor.”
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