Falls In Employment Rate And Pay In July

There isn't much good news in the ONS Labour Market Survey for September. The number of unemployed, the unemployment rate and the claimant count have all increased. The number of inactive people of working age and the inactivity rate have increased and growth in average earnings has decreased in the three months to July, the period the survey covered. The employment rate has fallen to 72.5% and the total employment level was 28.89 million.

There was another fall in the number of people working in manufacturing at 2.65 million, down 221,000. Total hours worked per week was 908.7 million. Average weekly hours in the quarter to July was 31.5 down 0.1 from April.

The unemployment rate was 7.9% or 2.47 million in the quarter to July 2009, up 743,000 on last year. There were 567,000 people unemployed for over 12 months and 731,000 18-24 year olds. There were 22,000 people 25 years and over claiming for over 2 years. The claimant count was 1.61 million up 693,700 on last year. The economic inactivity rate was 21.1% or 7.99 million in the quarter. That is an increase of 97,000 over the quarter and 125,000 over the year.

Average earnings however increased 2.2% on last year, down 0.2% from June. Pay including bonuses was up 1.7% on the year. Unit wage costs were up 3.6% in the first quarter of the year. In the quarter to July 2009 manufacturing unit wage costs increased by 4.3% and productivity decreased by 3.4%.

There were a total of 434,000 job vacancies in the three months to August, down 12,000, which meant there were 1.7 vacancies for every 100 employee jobs. There were also 246,000 redundancies over the quarter at a rate of 9.8 for every 1000 employees. In July 2009 there were 24,000 working days losts due to labour disputes from 10 stoppages.

It's A Matter Of Choice

Down the ages we have made use of our intellect to make cultural progress. It is not restricted to the empirical sciences but extends to realities known only to the mind. It finds its perfection in wisdom. Wisdom leads us along the right path. It is a matter of choice.

Conscience is the place where there is always a voice calling to us to do good and avoid evil. Individually and collectively, when a correct conscience prevails people can turn aside from subjective choices to the guidance of the objective moral order. We may sometimes however act in ignorance. It is only in freedom that man can choose good. People are right to prize freedom. True freedom is a great sign. Dignity demands that we decide freely and consciously. Dignity comes from choosing what is good and securing the means to that end (Gaudium et spes, 1965).

We must have a well-formed conscience (Catechism of the Catholic Church, CCC 1783, 1994). Man cannot decide for himself what is good and evil or know them. The gift of conscience enables us to reflect on the moral order. God is the first and sovereign source of the moral order. Religionists are always under pressure to reject God (Dominum et vivificantem, 1986). The people who think that the association of human activity and religion endangers our autonomy are obviously wrong to people who believe in God. The controversy can occasionally lead to the mistaken belief that there is an opposition between faith and science. We should be proud to integrate our human, scientific and technical enterprises with religious and philosophical values and co-operate with others working towards the same objectives (Gaudium et spes, 1965).