The number of payrolled employees has risen to a record high and is now well above pre-pandemic levels, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has found, yet pay was failing to keep up with inflation.
The latest ONS Labour market overview, released today (13 September), found that the number of payrolled employees rose by 718,000 since February 2020 to a record 29.7 million in August, a monthly increase of 71,000.
The unemployment rate decreased to 3.6 per cent, the lowest rate since May to July 1974, and the number of those unemployed for up to six months decreased to a record low of 720,000.
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Vacancy growth slows to 18-month low, report finds
The number of job vacancies in June to August this year was 1.26 million, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous quarter, the largest quarterly decrease since June to August 2020.
However, the number of unemployed people per vacancy remained at a historical low of 1.0 for the sixth consecutive period (May to July). The number of Workforce Jobs rose to a record high of 35.8 million.
Jane Gratton, head of people policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said vacancies remained high, and the tight labour market was affecting firms’ ability to invest and grow. “As rising costs force businesses to put investment plans on hold, budgets for people training and development are taking a hit”.
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