Unemployment Up By 0.1%

The employment rate went down by 0.2% (43,000) on the period from October to December and January to March 2013 but up 0.8% on the year. The unemployment rate increased by 0.1% to 7.8% over the same period, but was down 0.4% on the year. The number of unemployed people increased by 15,000 to 2.52m from October to December 2012 and January to March 2013, but fell by 92,000 fewer over the year.

There were 503,000 job vacancies for February to April 2013, up 40,000 on a year earlier. In terms of duration, 18% had been unemployed for over two years but almost half (47%) had been unemployed for six months or less. The rest were between the two, six months to two years unemployed.

Total pay rose by 0.4% and regular pay by 0.8%. Both measures have not seen lower growth indicators for some years. Average total pay was £463/week and average regular pay was £444/week.

Unemployment Down 0.1%

Unemployment was down 0.1% on June to August figures with 2.49m people unemployed according to the ONS Labour Market Survey statistical bulletin for January 2013. The number of unemployed is down 37,000 on June to August and 185,000 on a year earlier. The ONS also reports that 71.4% of the working population were in employment. The number of young unemployed people increased by 1,000 to 957,000 16-24 year olds. The number of young people in employment also increased by 12,000 to 3.72m.

The number of people employed in the public sector fell by 24,000 to 5.75m. In the private sector the numbers employed totalled 23.86m, up 65,000 from June 2012. There was an inactivity rate of 22.5% the same as June to August 2012 but 0.7% down on the previous year.

The total actual hours worked were 944.3m in September to November 2012, an increase of 7.8m. Average weekly hours were up 0.2 on June to August and 0.1 on the previous year at 31.8.

Total pay increased by 1.5% and regular pay increased by 1.4% compared with September to November 2011. In November 2012 average total pay was £472/week and average regular pay was £444/week.

Unemployment Down In October

The unemployment rate fell to 7.8% in October, a fall of 0.2% on May to July. The employment rate (16-64) was 71.2% up 0.1% on May to July. The number of unemployed was 2.51m, down 82,000 on the three monthly comparison and 128,000 on the year. The inactivity rate was 22.6%, or an economically inactive population of 9.07m (16-64) up 60,000 on the three months previous but down 249,000 on last year. There were 489,000 job vacancies for September to November 2012 or 1.8 vacancies per 100 employee jobs. In terms of duration, 1.16m people had been unemployed for up to 6 months, 442,000 people had been unemployed for between 6 and 12 months and 904,000 had been unemployed for over 1 year and 449,000 people had been unemployed for over 2 years. Total hours worked amounted to 949m for August to October 2012 and average weekly hours worked were 32.1. Earnings or payment for work done before tax and other deductions averaged (incl. bonuses) £471/week total pay and £443/week regular pay. The number of employees reached 25.12m, the self-employed totalled 4.2m, unpaid family workers reached 111,000 and the number of people on government schemes totalled 171,000.

Slight Fall In Unemployment

The unemployment rate fell 0.2% to 7.8% for July to September 2012 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. The number of the unemployed stands at 2.51m, down 49,000 on April to June an 110,000 on last year. The inactivity rate was 22.6% or 9.07m economically inactive people aged 16-64. The employment rate was 71.2% or 29.58m people, up 513,000 people on last year. Total hours worked per week for July to September were 945.3m, up 10.6m from April to June. Average hours worked were 32. Estimates for total hours can be affected by the arrangement of public holidays. In September 2012, average total pay was £471/week and total rergular pay was £444/week.

Slight Fall In Unemployment

The unemployment rate for June to August was 7.9% down 0.2% compared with March to May 2012. There were 2.53m unemployed down 50,000 on March to May. The employment rate for June to August was 71.3% up 0.5% on March to May with 29.59m people in work, up 212,000 on March to May and 510,000 on last year. The number of people in full-time work increased by 88,000 between March/May and June/August and part-time work by 125,000 but between June/August 2007 and June/August 2012 the number of people in full-time employment has fallen by 355,000 and the number of people in part-time employment has increased by 724,000. The number of unemployed people fell by 50,000 between March/May and June/August 2012 but increased by 883,000 between June/August 2007 and June/August 2012. The inactivity rate was down. There were 9.04m (22.5%) economically inactive people in June to August, down 138,000 on March to May and 314,000 on last year. There were 476,000 job vacancies for July to September 2012, up 3,000. There were 1.8 vacancies per 100 employee jobs. The largest increase in jobs between March and June 2012 was in the professional, scientific and technical sector with an increase of 87,000. The largest fall in jobs was recorded in the human health and social work sector with a decrease of 60,000 jobs. There pay rises in the June to August period. Total pay increased by 1.7% and regular pay increased by 2% on last year. Average total pay in August was £473/week and average regular pay was £444/week. The unemployment rate was highest in the North East with 9.9%. It was lowest in the South West with 5.8%. The largest decreases in the unemployment rate were in the North West with 1.1% and the North East with 0.9%. The highest employment rate was in the East of England with 74.6% followed by the South West (74.6%) and the South East (74.4%) and lowest in the North East with 67.9%. The inactivity rate was also highest in the North East with 24.6% and it was lowest in the East of England with 19.9%. The North East also had the highest Claimant Count with 7.7%. The lowest Claimant Count was in the South East with 3%.

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.

Unemployment Rate Down 0.2%

The unemployment rate fell by 0.2% to 8.1% over the three months from March to May 2012. Unemployment fell to 9.21m down by 65,000. The inactivity rate among those aged 16-64 was 22.9%.

Total pay rose by 1.5% on last year in the economy as a whole and regular pay rose by 1.8%.

Unemployment Down By 0.2%

The unemployment rate went down by 0.2%, or 51,000 to 2.61m unemployed people in the three months to April. There were 29.28m people aged 16 and over in employment, up 166,000 on the quarter. Full-time workers numbered 21.32m and part-time workers 7.97m. The private sector accounted for 23.38m, up 205,000 and the public sector for 5.9m, down 39,000.

There were 1.01m unemployed young people (16-24 year olds) down by 29,000 and 3.62m young 16-24 year olds in employment. The unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds was down 0.6% to 21.9% in the three months to April. The unemployment rate is increased as increasing numbers of unemployed young people go into full-time education and are classed as economically inactive. If people in full-time education are excluded there were 709,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds in the three months to April.

The economic inactivity rate was 23%, down 0.2%. The economically inactive went down by 69,000 on the quarter and 139,000 over the year to 9.23m. The figure includes a fall of 62,000 to 2.25m people who were students. The claimant count in May 2012 was 1.6m, a rate of 4.9%.

Total pay in the public sector rose by 1.4% on the previous year to £479/week and regular pay by 0.8% to £467. Total pay in the private sector rose by 1.3% to £465/week in April 2012 and average regular pay rose by 2.1% to £431/week.

There were 31.89m workforce jobs in March 2012, up 357,000 over the quarter and 544,000 over the year. There were 465,000 job vacancies in the three months to May 2012. The number of redundancies on the quarter fell 0.7% to 6.2% but was up on the year by 1.6%.

Unemployment Rate Highest Since 1995

The unemployment rate for March 2012 according to the latest ONS labour market statistical bulletin was 8.4%, the highest since 1995. There were 2.67m unemployed people. The number in employment was 29.12m, up 9,000 on the quarter but the number of people employed in the public sector fell by 37,000.

In the three months to January 2012 the inactivity rate was 23.1% equivalent to 9.3m economically inactive people. Over the same period 173,000 people were made redundant or 70 per 1000 employees. There were 31.54 workplace jobs in December 2011. Administative and support services showed the biggest increase in workplace jobs with an increase of 44,000 to 2.49m. Vacancies totalled 473,000 in the three months to February, an increase of 15,000. There were 1.8 vacancies per 100 employee jobs.

Total pay rose by 1.4% while regular pay rose by 1.7%. Output/worker rose by 1.2% between Q2 and Q3 2011 while unit labour costs rose by 0.5%.

Labour disputes cost industry 21,000 working days in January 2012.

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.

Fall In Unemployment

Unemployment fell by 34,000 over the quarter to reach 2.47m but was up 92,000 on the year. The unemployment rate for the three months to May was 7.8%, down 0.1% on the quarter but up 0.3 points on the year. The number of long-term unemployed increased by 61,000 to reach 787,000. The inactivity rate was down 0.2 or 62,000 on the quarter to 21.3% leaving 8.10 million working age people inactive. The claimant count fell by 20,800 on the month and 100,100 on the year to 1.46m or 4.5%.

The employment rate to May 2010 was up 0.3 to 72.3% or 28.98m employed people, an increase of 160,000. It was 0.6 down on last year. The public sector employed 6.09m and the private sector 22.78m.

Vacancies increased by 10,000 to 486,000 over the quarter. The sector with the largest increase in vacancies was wholesale, retail and motor vehicle repairs with an increase of 11,000 on the quarter.

The earnings annual growth rate for total pay for the quarter to May was 2.7%. Average total pay was £453 per week. Regular pay was £428 per week on average. The growth rate for regular pay was 1.8%. The average total in the private sector was £453 and average regular £418 per week. In the public sector the average total pay was £453 and average regular pay was £461 per week.

There were 30.77m workforce jobs in March 2010 with administration and support services increasing by 90,000. Total hours worked in the three months to May 2010 amounted to 911.4m giving an average of 31.5 hours a week. Output per worker decreased by 1.4% in Q4 2009. Unit wage costs increased by 2.4% over the same period. Nine stoppages in May 2010 cost 13,000 working days and 722,00 working days were lost in 97 stoppages over the year.

Long-term Unemployment At Record Levels

The employment rate according to the latest ststistics from the ONS is 72.1% equivalent to 28.86m employed people. Full-time worker numbers were down 56,000 over the quarter, but part-time work increased 61,000. 1.08m people were working part-time because they couldn't find a job (highest since 1992).

The unemployment rate was up 0.1% over the quarter to 7.9% leaving 2.47m people unemployed up 23,000 The were 1.48m on Jobseeker's Alowance. The long-term unemployed increased by 85,000 to reach 772,000, the highest figure since April 1997. The number of people unemployed for up to six months fell by 42,000 to 1.17m.

There were 30.75m workforce jobs in December 2009, down 533,000 on a year earlier. There were 5.2 unemployed people for every vacancy. The number of vacancies for May 2010 was 492,000 an increase of 7,000. All industry sector showed some form of movement over the quarter. In all 173,000 employees were made redundant, down 137,00 on last year in 3 months to April, that is 7/1000 employees.

The inactivity rate went up to 21.5%, an increase of 29,000 to 8.19m, a record high. Working age inactive people, including students and the long-term sick, increased by 58,000 to 2.07m. Total hours worked per week were 907.3m in three months to April. Average weekly hours 31.5, unchanged.

The annual growth rate for pay was 4.2% for three months to April from 4.3% in March. Annual regular pay growth was 1.9% for three months to April from 2% in March. Regular pay rose by 1.9%. Average weekly earnings including bonuses was £455/week in April 2010, a rise of 4.2% over the three months. Average weekly wage excluding bonuses was £428. In the private sector including bonuses was £450 up 4.5%, excluding bonuses £419. In the public sector including bonuses £463, up 4.2% over the year, excluding bonuses £458 up 3.7%.

Output per worker was 1.4% lower than in Q4 2009 on the year. Unit wage costs were up 2.4%. 5 stoppages cost 2000 working days lost in April. Over year to April 98 stoppages cost 713,000 lost working days.

2.51 Million Unemployed People

Unemployment increased by 53,000 to 2.51 million over the three months to March. The unemployment rate was 8% in March 2010. It is the highest number of unemployed people since December 1994. The number of people unemployed for over 12 months was 757,000 the highest since May 1997. The inactivity rate was up 0.2% to 21.5% with an increase of 88,000 to 8.17 million people of working age economically inactive. The number of vacancies went down 6,000 to 475,000 over the quarter.

Total pay (including bonuses) increased 4% for the three months to March 2010. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) increased by 1.9% from 1.7% in February 2010. Average total pay was £459/week and average regular pay £429/week. Total hours worked per week were 908.4 million with a weekly average of 31.6 in the three months to March 2010.

The public sector employed 6.10 million people and the private sector 22.76 million in December 2009. Average public sector total pay was £467/week and average regular pay was £459/week. Average private sector total pay was £463/week and regular pay £421/week in the three months to March 2010.

Labour Market Statistics For August 2009

The unemployment rate for the three months to August 2009 was 7.9%, up 0.3% on the previous quarter and 2.1% on the year. There were 2.47 million people unemployed, up 88,000 on the previous quarter and 677,000 on the year. The employment rate was 72.6% for the UK and the total number of people in employment was 28.95 million, down 0.3% on the previous quarter and 1.8% on the year. A total of 904.5 hours was worked in the quarter, down 14.3 million.

There were 434,000 job vacancies in the quarter a decrease of 163,000 on last year. The inactivity rate for people of working age was 21% or 7.97 million up 50,000 on the quarter and 80,000 on the year. In the three months to August 2009 there were 233,000 redundancies which is down 68,000 on the quarter but up 85,000 on the year. A total of 8 stoppages lost 36,000 working days in August.

The number of people working in manufacturing in the three months to August 2009 was 2.63 million, the lowest figure since 1978. Manufacturing productivity decreased by 2.2% and unit wage costs increased by 3.5% compared with the same period last year. Average earnings increased by 1.9%.

Unemployment Up To New Record

The latest labour market survey from the Office for National Statistics shows that the unemployment rate the number of unemployed and the claimant count have all risen. The rate has gone up to 7.8%, the numer of unemployed to 2.43 million and the claimant count to 1.58 million. The rate of economic inactivity has gone up to 21%, the number of economically inactive people to June was 7.95 million, 3.27 million of them were men and 4.69 million of them women.

The number of vacancies has gone down by 26,000 to 427,000 to July which means 1.6 vacancies for every 100 employee jobs. There were 277,000 redundancies in the three months to June.