The latest U.K. unemployment figures show the rate remains at 4.9 per cent as Britain’s jobs market stagnates
Vacancies are also falling
Meanwhile the figures also show private sector pay growth at fallen to its lowest in six years and stands in contrast to a 6.1pc increase for the average public sector worker in the same period.
Ben Harrison, Director, Work Foundation at Lancaster University said on the figures:
Today’s figures indicate the UK remains trapped in a deepening jobs drought. Vacancies have fallen to the lowest level outside of the Covid-19 pandemic since 2014, and young people are facing some of the toughest conditions for finding work in more than a decade.
“Unemployment remains unchanged at 4.9%, but the headline figure masks a particularly difficult jobs market for young people. Youth unemployment among 16-24 year olds now stands at 16.2% with nearly three quarters of a million young people out of work and looking for a job.
“At the same time, vacancies fell to 707,000, leaving jobseekers with fewer opportunities and employers with less pressure to compete financially for workers. Our research suggests the slowdown in hiring is particularly impacting young people. Over the last year, the decline in starter jobs has been 1.6 times faster than for other vacancies, making it increasingly difficult for young people to get their first foothold in work.
“For workers in employment, pay growth is also weak, with private sector wages growing by just 2.8% in nominal terms. As households are still facing high essential costs, the combination of job scarcity and weak wage growth risks putting both jobseekers and workers under increasing pressure.
“The Government must make creating good jobs in every postcode a central economic priority. But doing so will not be straightforward. In the short term, for weaker local economies it will be critical for workers that Government delivers on the promise of the Employment Rights Act to increase the security and pay of jobs in the everyday economy.
“Alongside this, Ministers must focus investment on the bigger transport, skills and employment support changes that can ensure in the future, people can access secure and well-paid jobs wherever they live.”