Employment outlook remains uncertain

Falling inflation and a rising number of employees on the payroll do not necessarily add up to a certain economic recovery.

The international outlook remains uncertain, and the planned end of the furlough scheme this month could tip things into reverse here in the UK.

Statistics for July show that the number of payroll employees increased by 182,000 to 28.9 million, but that was still 201,000 below pre-pandemic levels. Total hours worked were also up but remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Improvements between April and June included a quarterly rise in the employment rate of 0.3 percentage points, to 75.1%, and a decrease in the unemployment rate of 0.2 percentage points, to 4.7%.

Job vacancies reached a record high of 953,000 and average weekly earnings continued to bounce back: “total pay” including bonuses were up by over 10% in the private sector in May and June, compared with their Covid and furlough-affected levels of a year earlier.

But people in low-paid occupations (the young, those on fixed-term contracts or with low levels of education) have been particularly affected, the OECD intergovernmental economic organisation warns. And there is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to build a more inclusive labour market.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment