UK Jobs Market October 2018 – Lowest Unemployment For 43 Years & Highest Wages Growth In A Decade
This week’s labour market statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed unemployment at 4.0% for the latest quarter (July to September 2018), the lowest for 43 years. It has not been lower since December 1974 to February 1975. Unemployment dropped by 47,000 to 1.36 million, 47,000 fewer than for March to May 2018 and 79,000 fewer than for a year earlier.
UK Jobs Market Update October 2018- Wages Growth
Regular pay (which excludes bonuses) accelerated at the fastest rate since the financial crisis. UK wages growth was 3.1% higher in the 3 months ending in August than in the same quarter a year earlier. Annual pay growth including bonuses also edged up in the latest quarter, from 2.6% to 2.7%.
In real terms (adjusted for price inflation) average weekly earnings for UK employees increased by 0.7% excluding bonuses and by 0.4% including bonuses, compared with a year earlier.
Stephen Clarke, senior economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Britain’s jobs surge is at last feeding through to higher wages, with pay packets growing at their fastest rate since the financial crisis almost a decade ago. This pay momentum is very welcome, reflecting a tight labour market with near record numbers of people in work and unemployment at a 43-year low. However, it comes off the back of a truly awful decade for wages“.
UK Jobs Market Update October 2018 – Employment
Employment stood at 32.39m, while the number of UK vacancies stood at 832,000 for July to September 2018, up 35,000 more than for a year earlier.
UK Jobs Market Update October 2018 – Skills Worries
With the number of recorded vacancies close to an all-time record high, businesses are having more difficulty finding staff. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) issued a call to the government to work with business to ensure the introduction of a post-Brexit immigration system that would enable businesses to hire the foreign skills they needed.
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the BCC, said “The number of job vacancies is close to an all-time high, providing further evidence of the worrying skills shortages plaguing UK businesses. Firms are reporting that recruitment difficulties have reached critical levels, which coupled with Brexit uncertainty is increasingly putting employers off trying to hire, and if sustained could increasingly weigh on jobs growth.
Against this backdrop, the upcoming budget must be used to halt the alarmingly decline in apprenticeships, including scrapping the 10% co-investment apprenticeship contribution rule for small businesses, a key barrier to SMEs recruiting and training young apprentices. We also urge ministers to work closely with business to deliver a future migration system that enables access to the skills needed at all levels to help grow our economy.”
Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) chief executive, NeilCarberry also commented: “The latest figures emphasise the strong performance of the UK’s flexible jobs market, with wages rising in real terms and near record rates of employment. But there is some evidence that progress has slowed as businesses enter a holding pattern ahead of any Brexit deal. What we need now is for the Government to take a pragmatic approach that delivers a smooth Brexit for the economy – and for people’s jobs. A transition period, and longer-term clarity and stability on terms of trade and mobility between the UK and the EU are essential to avoiding a bumpy landing.”
Ten Live is an award-winning global recruitment agency. Recruitment experts in sourcing the best in the marketplace across all skills sets in supply chain logistics, education and recruiting and for specialist, hard-to-fill vacancies.
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