Pic: Shutterstock
The more timely estimate of payrolled employees for April this year shows a monthly decrease—down by 136,000 on the revised March 2023 figures—to 29.8 million. This is the first fall in total payrolled employees since February 2021.
The unemployment rate for Q1 2023 rose by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 3.9 per cent, largely driven by people unemployed for over 12 months.
During the same period, the economic inactivity rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points on the quarter to 21 per cent, largely driven by people aged 16 to 24.
Between February and April this year, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 55,000 on the quarter to 1,083,000. Vacancies fell on the quarter for the 10th consecutive period and reflect uncertainty across industries, as survey respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment, a release from the Office of National Statistics said.
There were 556,000 working days lost because of labour disputes in March this year, up from 332,000 in February.
Reacting to the latest ONS labour market data, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) head of people policy, Jane Gratton, said: “Skills shortages and unfilled job vacancies are the stark reality for many businesses across all sectors and regions. We still have more than a million job vacancies which are damaging the economy by preventing firms from fulfilling order books and taking on new work. Training up our British workforce is a top priority for business. But that won’t happen overnight, and the pain being felt by business is very real and happening right now.
“The most recent BCC survey found that four-fifths of firms trying to recruit can’t get the people they need – this is a huge problem. The government can help by introducing more flexible, short term mobility options that don’t require expensive sponsor visas – such as an expanded broad youth mobility scheme.?When firms cannot currently recruit and train from the UK labour market, then we need a pragmatic approach to immigration policy that fully considers the role overseas labour can play. That includes a Shortage Occupations List that accurately reflects the reality on the ground.”
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)