UK Employment Highest Since 1971; Jobless Rate At 44-year Low
March 19 2019 - 5:12AM
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UK employment level climbed to a record high in the three months
to January, while the jobless rate eased to its lowest level since
the mid-1970s, as the labor market shrugged off the chaos caused by
the uncertainties linked to Brexit.
Employment grew by 222,000 persons to a record 32.71 million in
the three months to January, preliminary data from the Office for
National Statistics showed on Tuesday. Economists had forecast an
increase of 120,000.
This was the largest rolling quarter-increase since the period
September to November 2015, the ONS said. This is in contrast with
the recent weakness in gross domestic product growth, especially
given that real wages growth rates have been rising, the agency
added.
The employment rate of 76.1 percent was the highest since the
series began in 1971.
The unemployment rate eased to 3.9 percent. The rate has not
been lowest since the three months to January 1975, the ONS said.
Economists had expected the figure to remain unchanged at 4
percent.
The inactivity rate hit a record low 20.7 percent in the quarter
to January.
Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses grew 3.4 percent
annually in the three months to January, which was slower than the
revised 3.5 percent in the three months to December. Economists had
expected the rate to remain unchanged at December's original 3.4
percent.
Pay including bonuses rose 3.4 percent annually, same as in
December. Economists had expected the pace of increase to slow to
3.2 percent.
Vacancies remained high suggesting a tightening labor market.
The recent surge in employment could have been due to the firms
boosting hiring ahead of Brexit.
In the three months to January, there were 863,000 unfilled
vacancies and 1.34 million unemployed people. The number of
unemployed per vacancy was 1.6 during the period.
A tightening labor market can pose problems for recruiters due
to a shortage of new recruits, the ONS said. This can also lead to
pressure for wages to rise and attract more people to the labor
market.
"UK labor data looks astonishingly strong for an economy that is
supposedly slowing on most other measures," ING economist James
Knightley said.
"If the government gets a long Brexit extension, a Bank of
England rate hike is clearly on the table for the summer."
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