Largest Fall In Unemployment Since Records Began

The unemployment rate continued to fall during the period June to August reaching 6% the lowest since 2008. There were 1.97m unemployed people, 154,000 fewer than in March to May and 538,000 fewer than last year. It is the largest fall in unemployment since records began in 1972. There were 9.03m people out of work and economically inactive. The economic inactivity rate was 22.2%, up on the previous three months but lower than last year.

There were 30.76m people in employment, 46,000 more than in the period March to May and 736,000 more than last year. The employment rate was 73% up on the 72.9% of March to May and the 71.5% of the same time last year. There was an increase in the number of workforce jobs by 285,000 from the March to May period to 33.26m in June to August, up 1.12m on last year.

Average weekly earnings in August increased over both the last three months and over the year. Average regular pay for employees was £452/week before tax, up 0.9% and average total pay before tax was £479/week, up 0.7%.

The lowest number of people to have claimed unemployment related benefits was in December 1973 at 422,600 and the highest was in July 1986 at 3.09m. The number people of claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) for the latest month, September 2014, was 951,000.

Vacancies estimates increased to 674,000 for July to September 2014, up 18,000 from April to June and 130,000 from last year (Figures from the ONS).

BMW Posts Record Figures For Fourth Successive Year

The BMW Group has continued to perform well during the past year and has maintained its position as the world's leading premium manufacturer recording their highest ever sales volume and group profit figures. Group revenues were slightly down on last year due to exchange rate developments. Pre-tax profits increased by 1.4% to 7,913m euros. Group net profit increased 4.5% to 5,340m euros another new record for BMW.

The Group plans to increase worldwide sales volume in 2014 and the increase should be reflected in group profit before tax which is also expected to rise significantly. The increase in earnings will be affected by investment in new technologies and personnel expenses. Good progress was made by the Financial Services division

BMW was also able to increase the size of its workforce in 2013 employing a record number of apprentices. The BMW Group trained a total of 4,445 apprentices worldwide. The workforce increased by 4.2% in all reflecting growth in business volumes and the rapid pace of innovation. Worldwide BMW employed 110,351 employees up from 105,876 employees in 2012. The increase was driven by the growing need for engineers and skilled workers to keep up with demand and to continue to develop innovations and new technologies.

Farming Incomes Up In English Regions

All English regions have seen an increase in their total farm incomes over the past five years according to a statistical release from Defra. Total income from farming in England as a whole increased by 19% and regional increases range from 9% in the South West to 33% in the East Midlands.

Agriculture makes an important contribution to the national economy. It contributed 0.61% to the economy but contributions vary from region to region. At local level the contribution of agriculture to the local economy ranged from 0.17% in the South East to 1.26% in the South West. It contributes least to the local economy in London and the South East.

England can be divided geographically into livestock farming areas in the north and west and arable areas in the south and east. This is reflected in the fact that livestock output was most prominent in the South West and the North West and crops were predominant in the East of England.

In England as a whole, agriculture's contribution to the economy was £7,125m (0.61%) and employed 1.14% of the workforce.

Fall In Unemployment Of 0.2%

The unemployment rate for July to September was 7.6% down 0.2% from April to June 2013 according to figures from the ONS. There were 2.47m people unemployed down 48,000 from April to June and from a year earlier. There were 378,000 more people in employment and 149,000 fewer economically inactive people.

In terms of public and private employment, there were 5.67m people employed in the public sector (19%) and 24.17m people employed in the private sector (81%). There were 1.55m people employed in the NHS, 1.08m people employed in public administration, 1.48m people employed in education and 433,000 people employed in HM Forces.

There were 32.49 workforce jobs (filled jobs) in the economy in June 2013. There were 545,000 job vacancies for August to October 2013. There were 2 vacancies for every 100 employee jobs for August to October 2013.

Total pay averaged £475/week and regular pay was £447/week in September 2013 and between July and September 2013 total pay rose by 0.7% and regular pay by 0.8%.

By duration of unemployment 1.15m people have been unemployed for up to six months and 458,000 have been unemployed for over 2 years up 16,000 over the year.

Total Income From Farming Up Across The Country

The second estimate of agriculture in the English regions from Defra suggests that total income from all farming increased significantly in all NUTS1 regions in 2011. The North East had the largest increase with 38% and the East Midlands had the next largest increase with 33% on 2010. The smallest increases were in the North West and the West Midlands with a 20% increase in each.

Total income from farming has increased in all NUTS1 regions, in the medium term, between 2005 and 2011. The South East has seen increases of 364 to 464 and the North East 191 to 291. The smallest increases were in the East of England (224%) and the West Midlands (225%).

The relative importance of agriculture to each region can be seen in its share of regional gross value added (GVA) and the regional workforce. The greatest contribution to GVA in 2011 was made in the South West with 1.3% and the least in the South East with 0.19%. In England as a whole agriculture contributed 0.64% to GVA.

Agriculture made its greatest contribution to the regional workforce in the South West with 2.22% and the least in the South East with 0.5%. The industry contributed 1.1% to the workforce in England as a whole.

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 8.3%

The unemployment reached the highest it has been since 1996 at 8.3% or 2.62m people, an increase of 129,000 on the quarter. The 2.62m figure is the highest since 1994.

There were 29.07m people in employment aged 16 and over, a decrease of 197,000 on the quarter. There were 31.16m workforce jobs in June 2011, down 102,000 on the quarter. Workforce jobs measured jobs filled. It differs from the employment figure because some people have more than one job.

The number of redundancies fell by 7,000 to 147,000 over the three months before the survey. The redundancy rate was 5.9/1,000. The number of vacancies increased by 7,000 to 462,000 in the three months to October 2011. There were 1.8 jobs to every 100 employee jobs during that period.

Unemployment Up To 2.49m

The unemployment rate for October to December 2010 was 7.9% or 2.49m unemployed people. Youth unemployment (18-24 year olds) was 762,000 and is at its highest since 1993.

There were 29.12 employed people and an employment rate of 70.5%. Inactivity was at 23.4% or 9.36m inactive people. The public sector employed 6.01 people in September 2010, 33,000 down from June and the number of people employed in the private sector was 23.11m unchanged from June 2010.

Actual hours worked totalled 924.6m in the three months to December, 3% up on the three months to September. Average weekly hours worked in the three months to December totalled 31.8, up 0.2 from three months to September 2010.

Total pay, which includes bonuses, went up by 1.8% on the year earlier and regular pay went up by 2.3% on the year earlier. Private sector average total pay was £447/week in December 2010 and public sector pay average weekly earnings was £467. Average regular pay in the private sector was £419/week and in the public sector £467/week. The claimant count was 1.46m up on the quarter but down on the year.

Productivity was up 1.7% in Q3 2010 compared with Q3 2009 and whole economy wage costs fell by 0.5% over the same period.In December 2010, 7,000 working days were lost because of 14 stoppages in labour disputes and over the year 365,000 days lost from 88 stoppages.

There were 30.7m workforce jobs in September 2010, up on the quarter but down over the year with most jobs increases in accomodation and food services activities and between November 2010 and January 2011 there were 500,000 vacancies (503,000 in same period 2009) and a vacancy ratio of 1.9 per 100 employee jobs. Redundancies totalled 145,000 in the three months to December 2010 unchanged on the previous three months but down 23,000 from a year earlier or 5.8 per 1000 employees.

Agricultural Labour 2010

There were 293,000 people working on commercial agricultural holdings in 2010 unchanged from 2009 compared with the 312,000 in 2008. There was a total of 170,000 farmers, partners directors and spouses, up 3% on 2009. There were 11,000 salaried managers, an increase of 1% on 2009. The other 112,000 workers (-4%) included 47,000 full-time workers (+3%), 28,000 part-time workers (-4%) and 37,000 casual workers (-12%).

A comparison can also be made between those working on "commercial" holdings and the total for "all" holdings in 2009. The total number of people working on "all" holdings in 2009 was 363,000. Farmers, partners, directors and spouses totalled 223,000 compared with 165,000, salaried managers totalled 12,000 on "all" holdings compared with 10,000 working on "commercial" holdings. Other workers totalled 128,00 on "all" holdings and 117,000 on "commercial" holdings.

Unemployment At 7.7%

Headline indicators for the labour market released by the ONS include the unemployment rate of 7.7% and unemployment level at 2.45m people. The employment rate was 70.7% or 29.16m and the inactivity rate was 23.2% and the level of inactivity went up to 9.3m. Average regular pay for June to August increased by 2% and total pay by 1.7%.

The bulletin also included that there were 459,000 vacancies and that the vacancy ratio was 1.7. There were 30.8m workforce jobs. The average weekly hours worked in the three months to August was 31.6 and the total hours worked was 918.8m.

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.

Increase In Long-Term Unemployment

The employment rate for October to December 2009 was 72.4%, down 0.1% on the quarter and 28.91m employed people, down 12,000. The number in full-time employment fell 37,000 to 21.22m. Part-time employment increased by 25,000 to 7.67m. The workforce also included 1.04m part-time people looking for a full-time job, the highest since 1992, up 37,000 on the quarter.

The unemployment rate was unchanged 7.8% and there were 2.46m unemployed people, 3,000 fewer than the last quarter. There were 37,000 more long-term unemployed over the quarter to give a total of 663,000, the highest figure since the quarter to September 1997. There were 725,00 18-24 year olds unemployed. In January 2010 there were 1.64m people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance, an increase of 23,500 since December 2009 following two successive monthly falls. The claimant count rate is 5%.

The inactivity rate for the quarter to December was uo 0.2% to 21.3%. The highest ever inactivity rate recorded was 23.3% in 1983. There were 8.06m inactive working age people over the quarter due to an increase of 72,000 thanks to an increase of 62,000 students to 2.62m, the highest since records began.

The number of vacancies in the three months to January 2010 was 479,000, an increase of 49,000. There were 1.8 vacancies for every 100 employee jobs. Redundancies totalled 168,000 in the three months to December. The redundancy rate was 6.8 per 1000 employees.

Total pay (including bonuses) rose by 0.8% on last year to £451/week. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.2% on last year to £425/week. Private sector average total pay in December 2009 was £448/week and was unchanged on a year earlier. Average regular pay was £416/week. Public sector average total pay was £457/week and rose 3.7% over the year. Average regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the public sector was £456/week and rose 3.9% over the year.

Whole economy unit wage costs rose by 4.1% in the third quarter of 2009 compared with a year earlier while productivity was 3.1% lower. Manufacturing unit wage costs decreased by 0.7% while manufacturing productivity increased by 3.6% over the same period.

Public sector employment totalled 6.09m, an increase of 23,000 and the private sector accounted for 22.82m, up 15,000 from June 2009. There were 30.86m workforce jobs in September 2009, down 127,000 over the quarter and 649,00 over the year. Construction alone fell by 67,000, agriculture by 1,000, production jobs fell by 41,000 and services by 18,000. There were 2.6m employee jobs in manufacturing.

Hours worked totalled 907.0m in the quarter to December, down 1.8m on the previous qaurter. Average weekly hours in the quarter to December were 31.5, unchanged from September 2009.

In the three months to December 2009 there were 25.26m UK nationals and 3.72m non-UK people in employment. Some 3,000 working days were lost due to 11 labour dispute stoppages.

A Fall In The Number Of Unemployed And Claimants

The number of unemployed people fell for the first time since May 2008. There were 7,000 fewer people unemployed bringing the number down to 2.46m. The number unemployed for over 12 months grew by 29,000 over the quarter to 631,000, the highest since November 1997. The unemployment rate for September to November was unchanged at 7.8%. The claimant count fell for the second consecutive month to reach 1.61m, the largest monthly fall since April 2007.

There were 448,000 vacancies in the three months to December 2009. That is an increase of 16,000 on the previous three months but 80,000 fewer than a year earlier. There were 30.86m workforce jobs in September 2009. Construction saw the largest decrease in jobs. The inactivity rate was 21.2% for September to November 2009. The number of inactive people rose by 79,000 to 8.05m.

Total hours worked per week in the three months to November were 910.9m. Average weekly hours came to 31.5, up 0.2 from August 2009. Productivity was 3.1% lower in Q3 2009 than Q3 2008 and unit wage costs rose by 4.1% over the same period. Manufacturing unit wage costs increased by 1.8%.

Average regular pay rose by 1.1% on the previous year, but decreased 0.1 on the previous quarter. Average total pay in November was £451/week, an increase of 0.7%. Private sector average regular pay in November was £414/week and average total pay was £447/week. Public sector average regular pay £455/week, average total pay was £459/week.

In November 14 labour disputes cost the economy 36,000 working days. Over the year to November 90 stoppages meant 436,000 lost working days. The number of redundancies decreased by 31,000 to 182,000 in the three months to November on the previous quarter and 46,000 on the previous year.

Slowdown In Labour Market Decline

The ONS Labour Market Survey for December reports there have been falls in the number of jobs, lower employment, increases in redundancies and rising unemployment ever since the start of the recession but in the third quarter of 2009 the labour market decline has slowed.

The number claiming Jobseekers Allowance in November was 1.63 million, a decrease of 6,300, the first monthly fall since February 2008. The number of vacancies in the three months to November was 432,000.

The employment rate for August to October was 72.5% at 28.93 million, up 53,000 and there was the smallest quarterly increase in unemployment rates, at 7.9%, since Spring 2008. The number of unemployed was 2.49 million. The number of redundancies fell 42,000 to 191,000 people, a rate of 7.7 per 1000 employees. The inactivity rate was 21% and there were 7.99 million economically inactive people of working age. The Average Earnings Index (AEI), including bonuses, went up by 1.5% on last year. The AEI excluding bonuses went up 1.7% on the year. Nine stoppages lost a total of 175,000 working days. Over the year to October, 90 stoppages lost 374,000 working days.

There were 30.86 million workforce jobs in September which is down 127,000 over the quarter and 649,000 on the year. Construction saw the largest decreases. The manufacturing industries had 2.61 million employee jobs in the three months to October. There were 26.36 million employee jobs and 4.2 million self-employment jobs.

Productivity for the whole economy for the second quarter of 2009 was down by 3.9% on the previous year. Unit wage costs for the whole economy were 5.7% higher for the same period. Manufacturing productivity was down by 0.9% and unit wage costs up by 3% for three months to October.

Manufacturing Jobs Hit All Time Low

The number of people unemployed has risen to 2.38m up 281,000 in the three months to May giving an unemployment rate of 7.6% and 753,000 on the year. The claimant count has increased to 1.56m. The number of inactive people of working age has increased and the economic inactivity rate has risen to 20.9% in the quarter. There are fewer vacancies. The number of vacancies was 429,000 down 35,000 on the quarter and 222,000 on the year. The number of redundancies was up 31,000 to 301,000 in the three months to May and 182,000 on the year. There were 31.19m workforce jobs in March. That is 108,000 down on the quarter and 455,000 fewer over the year. The number of manufacturing jobs in the quarter was 2.68m, the lowest figure since 1978 and is 201,000 or 7% down on the year. There were a total of 918.8m hours worked in the quarter to May and the average weekly hours worked was unchanged at 31.7. Average earnings annual growth rate for the whole economy excluding bonuses was 2.6% and including bonuses was 2.3%.