ONS figures show rise in UK employment rate

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that the number of people in employment in the UK increased between August to October 2017 and November 2017 to January 2018.

The latest Labour Force Survey showed that the employment rate reached a record high of 75.3%, up from 74.6% a year earlier.

Record 

The figures showed that there were 168,000 more people in employment compared with August to October 2017 and 402,000 more than for the previous year, with the total number of people in work reaching 32.25 million.

The number of people not in employment dropped by 127,000 from a year earlier, whilst the number of people who were not working, not seeking work or not available to work fell by 158,000 over the same period. The unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 4.3%, down from 4.7% from the previous year.

The inactivity rate also reached a record low, with the number of people aged 16 to 64 who were economically inactive reaching 21.2%, down from 21.6% from a year earlier.

Highest

Commenting on the figures, CV-Library Founder and Managing Director Lee Biggins said: “The employment rate is at its highest and while this is good news for the economy, many employers are struggling to find the talent they need to plug the skills gap. Our own data found that advertised jobs were up by 11.2% in January 2018 compared to the previous year, yet candidate appetite is failing to keep up with employer demand.”