UK Employment Figures Fall

Employment in the UK has fallen for the first time in two years. The number of unemployed people went up by 14,000 in the summer quarter according to the Office for National Statistics. The inactivity rate: measuring those who are not employed and are not seeking work, rose to an eight year high. The highest rates of inactivity were amongst 18-24 year olds suggesting that young people are leaving work for further education. 

There is speculation that the impact of Brexit is being felt, with figures being released yesterday that show the UK economy growing at half the rate of Germany's. 


Howard Archer, an economist with EY Item Club, a forecasting body said; “A fall in employment over the quarter suggests that persistent lacklustre economic growth and appreciable economic and Brexit uncertainties may be starting to rein in the labour market’s strength,”  

The ONS said the unemployment rate held at a four-decade low of 4.3 percent but that pay growth -- which would usually be expected to rise with so many people in work -- remained much slower than inflation.



Further evidence of a weaker labour market came from a fall in job vacancies, a 29,000 decline in the number of full-time jobs and an increase in the number of part-time workers saying that they would like to have full-time employment.

The report comes one week before Phillip Hammond set the budget for the UK.