Unemployment Down 0.2% To 8%

The unemployment rate fell 0.2% to 8% between April and June 2012 leaving 2.56m people aged over 16 unemployed, down 46,000 on the quarter. The employment rate was 71%, up 0.4%. The number of full-time workers increased by 130,000 to 21.41m and part-time workers increased by 71,000 to 8.07m. The economic inactivity rate for 16-64 year olds was 22.6% the lowest figure since 1991.

Average total pay was £469/week in June 2012. Average regular pay was £442/week. Total hours worked in the economy was 934.7m/week or an average of 31.7 hours/week.

There were 472,000 job vacancies in the three months to July 2012, up 10,000 on the previous three months, or 1.8 job vacancies per 100 employee jobs.

Number of Unemployed Reaches 2.64m

The unemployment rate reached 8.3% in November 2011, up 0.4% on the quarter. The last time it was higher was January 1996. The total number of unemployed people reached 2.64m, the highest number since September 1994. The unemployment level for the 16 to 24 age group at 22% is the highest since records began. The number of unemployed people in that age group has risen to 1.03m. Data from the years before these records began show that the level of youth unemployment was higher in the 1980s.

Total pay rose by 2% on last year. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.8% on the year. Output per worker was unchanged. Unit labour costs increased by 0.3%. Actual hours worked per week was 918m and average weekly hours worked increased by 0.2% to 31.6. There were 455,000 vacancies in the three months to November, or 1.7 vacancies for 100 employee jobs.