New employment figures confirmed 2018 had the UK’s strongest jobs
market on record with latest updates today (22 January) showing:
- UK employment rate at an all-time high, with more people in
work than ever before
- wage growth has outstripped inflation for the tenth month in
a row
- unemployment rate is 4.0%
The UK has continued to beat its own record-breaking job figures
with a new record employment rate of 75.8% and 32.53 million
people in work in November, more than ever before.
Minister of State for Employment welcomed the figures from the
Office for National Statistics (ONS), which also showed real
wages increased for the tenth month in a row just before
Christmas. Regular pay grew 3.3% on the year – its fastest growth
in almost a decade.
The unemployment rate remained at a joint 43-year low of 4.0%
with the employment rate reaching a new record high of 75.8%. And
with vacancies at a joint record high, 853,000, the data also
shows job opportunities continue to be out there.
Minister of State for Employment said:
Once again, we see a new record employment rate in the UK, 75.8
per cent, with more people in work than ever before. UK workers
also got a much needed pay boost before Christmas with wages
outpacing inflation for the tenth month in a row in November,
growing at the fastest rate in a decade.
There are 328,000 more people in work over the past year,
almost entirely driven by full-time jobs as the government
delivers an economy that works for the British people.
Our pro-business policies have helped boost private sector
employment by 3.8 million since 2010, and as the Resolution
Foundation’s latest report shows, the ‘jobs-boom has helped
some of the most disadvantaged groups find employment’,
providing opportunities across society.
Today’s figures also reveal the youth unemployment level has
almost halved since 2010, with female employment at a near record
high of 71.2%.
Over 3.4 million more people have entered work since 2010,
meaning an average of 1,000 more people in work every day.
Sectors across the economy are benefiting, with 23,000 more
manufacturing jobs in the last year and 22,000 more jobs in the
hospitality sector.
The statistics also reveal three quarters of jobs created since
2010 are full time, permanent roles that are in higher skilled
occupations, which typically bring higher earnings – all
ambitions of the government’s Industrial
Strategywhich seeks to create better, well-paying jobs fit
for the future.
The government is helping even more people benefit from a
well-paid job by:
- backing businesses to create good jobs with our modern
Industrial Strategy, while ensuring they play by the rules, so we
are closing tax loopholes, strengthening workers’ rights, and
tightening the rules big businesses must follow
- investing in the infrastructure, training and apprenticeships
we need for our future, with public investment at the highest
sustained level in 40 years
- introducing Universal Credit which is helping people move
into work faster and stay in it longer, while recent Budget
measures mean 2.4 million families will keep up to an extra £630
per year of what they earn
- helping people stay in work longer with our Fuller Working Lives
strategy, which supports employers to recruit, re-train and
retain older workers
- tackling inequalities in employment highlighted by
the Race Disparity
Audit, through targeted support in 20 areas around the
country and £90 million announced by the Prime Minister to help
young people
- arranging work experience sessions for students through
Jobcentre Plus, in over 1,400 schools
