Employment still weakening

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) thinks that a slight pick-up in vacancies is being driven by smaller businesses (with some taking on staff to meet COVID-19 guidelines).

But overall, employment is still weakening (see page 5), especially among self-employed and part-time workers.

The official unemployment level remained largely unchanged (3.9%) because of increased “economic inactivity” (people out of work but not currently looking for work).

It suggests a growing number of discouraged workers alongside those still in employment but not working.

Among the 7.5 million still on furlough in June (affecting the youngest, oldest and manual or elementary occupations most), over three million had been away from work for three months or more.

According to ONS, there were also around 300,000 away from work because of the pandemic but receiving no pay.

Hours worked fell to a record low on the eve of the government’s 17 July call for workers to return to work if they could.

Average earnings cuts of -3.6% in manufacturing and -2.8% in the private sector are a clear sign of the effect all this is having, while the claimant count, reflecting both unemployed and low-income workers, reached 2.7 million.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/august2020