Labour market squeeze: UK unemployment rate falls to 4.2 per cent as vacancies soar to 1.2m
The UK unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points on the quarter to 4.2 per cent for the three months to the end of October.
A rise in more part-time work is partly behind the fall, according to Office for National Statistics data out this morning.
Young people, a group that bore the brunt of many Covud job losses, saw a decrease in the unemployment rate to below pre-coronavirus rates.
The number of job vacancies between September and November, meanwhile, soared to more than 1.2m, 419,000 more than the pre-pandemic period of January to March 2020.
The statistics include the end of the Covid-19 furlough scheme, which many feared would lead to a jump in redundancies for those workers still having their wages subsidised by the taxpayer.
Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “With still no sign of the end of the furlough scheme hitting the number of jobs, the total of employees on payroll continued to grow strongly in November, although it could include people recently made redundant but still working out their notice.
“The number on payroll is now above pre-pandemic levels right across the country.
“Separately, survey findings show much of the recent growth in employment has been among part-timers, who were particularly hard hit at the start of the pandemic.
On pay, for betweenn August to October, annual growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 4.9 per cent, as companies jostled for position to secure the best talent amid a labour market squeeze.
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) agreed that the strong jobs numbers showed the economy took the end of furlough “in its stride.
Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP said: “With the number of people on payrolls now above pre-pandemic levels across every region and age group, including the biggest monthly increase on record in November, it’s clear our Plan for Jobs is working.