Unemployment At 7.7%

The unemployment rate for the 16-64 age group for the three months to March 2011 was down 0.1% to 7.7% or a total of 36,000 fewer unemployed people according to the ONS Labour Market Survey for March 2011. The number of unemployed people in March was 2.46m. The employment rater was 70.7% and the number of employed people was 29.57m. In the 16-24 age group unemployment was 20% of the economically active population, down 0.5% on the previous three months. The inactivity rate was 23.3% and the number of economically inactive people was 9.32m. Those inactive due to long-term illness numbered 2.16m. The claimant count increased by 12,400 to 1.47m.

Average regular pay for public sector workers in March 2011 was £471/week and averege total pay (incl. bonuses) was £481/week. For private sector workers average regular pay was £422/week and average total pay (incl. bonuses) was £466/week. The earnings annual growth rate for total pay was 2.3% for the three months to March and for regular pay 2.1%. Actual hours worked per week in tyhe three months to March totalled 921.9. Average weekly hours worked over he same period was 31.6.

There 123,000 redundancies in the three mnoths to March, down 24,000 on the previous three months and 53,00 on the year. The redundancy rate was 4.9 per 1,000 employees. Working days lost due to labour disputes totalled 145,000 in the twelve months to March 2011, the lowest since records began in 1931.

Whole economy output per worker was 0.8% up in Q4 2010 compared with the previous year. hole economy wage costs increased by 0.7% over the same period. In December 2010 there were 31.26m workforce jobs with the largest increase being in human health and social work. Vacancies in the three months to April 2011 were down 30,000 to 469,000. If the temporary vacancies connected with the Census are excluded the total falls to 461,000. There were 1.8 vacancies per 100 employees in the three months to April 2011.