17 March 2004 - One of the best labour markets in the world - Browne
Speaking on Budget day, Des Browne welcomed figures showing more people in work, fewer people unemployed and more vacancies. He said:
“The UK has one of the best labour markets in the world, with the highest employment and lowest unemployment of the major world economies. Employment is high across the country: every region has an employment rate above the EU average.”
“The continued strength of the UK economy under this government means the number of people in work has hit a new record high. We are close to achieving our ambition of three quarters of working age people in jobs.”
The latest labour market statistics show the improvement in employment continues. In November-January 2004 there were 121 thousand more people in work than in the previous quarter and 262 thousand more than a year ago.
There are now 28.27 million people in work in the UK, the highest figure ever recorded. The employment rate is 74.8 per cent, up from 74.6 per cent a year ago.
“Unemployment is at its lowest for nearly thirty years. The even better news is that with the number of new vacancies continuing to grow, we can help more people realise their aspiration of returning to work,” Des Browne continued.
The internationally recognised ILO measure of unemployment fell by 33 thousand this quarter, to 1.44 million.
The number of unemployed claimants is 885,000, down 6,600 in February. Both these figures are the lowest since 1975.
“With unemployment historically low, we still face some big challenges. Even in today’s strong labour market, many of those who remain out of work have stopped looking for a job and become economically inactive.
"We are doing better than many other countries in tackling this problem. Through Jobcentre Plus, we are helping more and more people overcome the barriers that have prevented them looking for and taking up work.”
Notes for editors
Background to Labour Market Statistics: March 2004
- Employment is growing and unemployment is falling. Vacancies are high and rising and redundancies are low and falling
- This month’s Labour Force Survey covers November to January 2004. The claimant unemployment count date was 12th February and the vacancy count date was 6th February.
- In November to January 2004, employment rose by 121 thousand on the previous quarter and 262 thousand on the year. 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 28.272 million people in work in November to January, a new record high.
- The LFS employment rate is 74.8%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter. This is 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 121 thousand in the last three months and 262 thousand over the last year.
- The level of ILO unemployment in November to January was 1.44 million, down 33 thousand in the last three months and 34 thousand on this time last year. The ILO unemployment rate has fallen from 4.9% to 4.8% this quarter and is 0.2 percentage points lower than a year ago.
- The latest claimant count figures show 885.2 thousand claimants in February 2004, a fall of 6.6 thousand on the month. The level of claimant unemployment has fallen by an average of 10.4 thousand a month over the last three months. The claimant unemployment rate, at 2.9%, is down 0.2 percentage points over the last year.
- The proportion of the population who are economically inactive – those who do not have a job but are not actively seeking or available for work – is 21.3%, unchanged over the last year. However, excluding students, the inactivity rate has fallen over the year.
The number of vacancies remains high
- ONS’s vacancy survey estimates there were 576.0 thousand unfilled vacancies in the quarter to February 2004, up 15.1 thousand (2.7%) 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 February 2004 were 372,753 compared to 304,138 in the same month in 2003. This increase may partly reflect the success of Jobcentre Plus in attracting vacancies from employers.
- More than 10,000 new vacancies are 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 January was 4.4%, up 0.9 points from December
- Rise reflects effect of bonuses. Excluding bonuses, earnings growth was 3.6%, up 0.1 points on the previous month.
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