14 January 2004 - A good start to 2004 – Browne
Minister of State for Work, Des Browne, today welcomed figures showing more people in work, falling unemployment and redundancies at a historically low level. He said:
“After another year of steady economic growth there are nearly two hundred thousand more people in work, while unemployment is falling.”
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show employment at record levels. There are 28.15 million people in work in the UK, up 41 thousand this quarter and 186 thousand higher than a year ago.
The Minister continued:
“The benefits of economic success have been felt right across the UK. Over the last six years, employment has grown and unemployment has fallen in every region of the country.”
ILO unemployment stands at 1.46 million, a fall of 29 thousand this quarter and 64 thousand over the year. The number unemployed and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance is 908.2 thousand, a fall of 8.3 thousand in the latest month and 27 thousand lower than a year ago. The ILO and claimant unemployment rates are 4.9% and 3.0% respectively, in each case the lowest figure since 1975.
Des Browne said:
“With many thousands of new jobs coming up every day, most people who experience unemployment find work again very quickly. The last year has also seen a further improvement in long-term unemployment, with fewer than 150,000 people unemployed for a year or more compared to well over half a million six years ago.”
“As we enter 2004, my aim is to build on this success. Having weathered the economic problems of the last two years, the UK is well placed to benefit from better growth prospects in the world economy. The government’s recent report, Full Employment in Every Region, sets out the challenge of helping more people, especially those who face the biggest obstacles, fulfil their ambition of returning to work.”
Notes for editors
Background to Labour Market Statistics January 2004
- Employment is growing and unemployment is falling. Redundancies are low and falling and vacancies are high and rising.
- This month’s Labour Force Survey covers the September to November 2003 quarter. The claimant unemployment count date was 11th December and the vacancy count date was 5th December.
- In September to November 2003, employment rose by 41 thousand on the previous quarter. ILO unemployment was down in the latest quarter and on the year. Claimant unemployment was down in the latest month and on the year.
- The labour market is in a strong position
- There were 28.149 million people in work in September to November, one of the highest figures on record.
- The LFS employment rate is 74.6%, the same as last quarter and one of the highest rates on record.
- On both measures, recent unemployment rates are the best since 1975.
- Both the ONS and Jobcentre Plus series show a rise in vacancies over the last year.
- Over the last year the redundancy rate per thousand employees shows a fall of 0.7 to 6.1 per thousand employees. This is one of the lowest figures on record.
- Employment is growing and the trend in unemployment is down
- There has been sustained growth in employment: up by 41 thousand in the last three months and 186 thousand over the last year.
- The level of ILO unemployment in September to November was 1.46 million, down 29 thousand in the last three months and 64 thousand on this time last year. The ILO unemployment rate has fallen from 5.0% to 4.9% this quarter and is 0.2 percentage points lower than a year ago.
- The latest claimant count figures show 908.2 thousand claimants in December 2003, a fall of 8.3 thousand on the month. The level of claimant unemployment has fallen by an average of 7.3 thousand a month over the last three months. The claimant unemployment rate, at 3.0%, is down 0.1 percentage points over the last year.
- The number of vacancies remains high
- ONS’s vacancy survey estimates there were 616.0 thousand unfilled vacancies in the economy as a whole in the quarter to December 2003, up 9.5 thousand (1.6%) on the same period last year.
- Information on the new vacancies reported to Jobcentres each month is available on Nomis (http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/). Jobcentre vacancies in December 2003 were 276,363, compared to 229,993 in the same month in 2002. This increase may partly reflect the success of the new Jobcentre Plus in attracting vacancies from employers.
- Recent figures are consistent with more than 10,000 new vacancies placed at Jobcentres every working day. Evidence suggests up to twice this number come up through other recruitment channels.
- Earnings growth in the year to November was 3.5%, down 0.1 points from October.
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