Learn about the latest trends in the labour market.
The latest ONS data covers the period from January to March 2024 and shows a largely unchanged labour market that remains tight overall but continues to slowly soften. UK employment is down on both the year and the quarter, while economic inactivity has slightly increased. The unemployment rate is above estimates of a year ago and up in the latest quarter. Vacancies continue to fall but are still above pre-pandemic levels.
The economic inactivity rate is higher than estimates a year ago and is up in the latest quarter. The increase is largely due to a rise in the number of students. Those inactive due to long-term sickness has increased slightly this quarter, following a steadily rising trend despite policy interventions aimed to reduce it. The number of vacancies continues to fall. This is the 21st consecutive period in which vacancies have fallen but are still above pre-pandemic levels.
Growth in regular pay was 6.0%
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