The Office for National Statistics has released
new workforce data today, which shows:
-
The number of
people claiming employment
related benefits continues to
surge, reaching 2.8
million in May – a
125.5% rise since
March. This
includes those employed with low income or hours and those
who
are unemployed.
-
More than
600,000 people drop
off the
payroll in
May compared to
March 2020 (a fall
of 2.1%) according to the
latest HMRC Pay As You
Earn Real Time
Information.
-
People who
lose their
jobs will struggle to find new positions as the data
suggests a decrease of
approximately
60% in job vacancies
for May compared with March
2020.
-
Today’s ONS
data chimes
with Department
of Work and
Pensions figures that
showed a 40% rise
in people applying for Universal
Credit in April
2020.
This takes the
total number of
new UC claims to 1.2 million since
the start
of lockdown.
Polly Neate, chief
executive of
Shelter, said: “Today’s
figures warn
of hundreds
of
thousands losing
their
jobs. Many of them will
be private renters living in the least secure
homes.
“While the evictions ban is providing some temporary respite,
it isn’t
stopping renters who’ve lost
income from amassing home-threatening debts. Worse
yet, with
Universal
Credit too
low to
pay average rents, those same
renters are met
with gaping
holes in the
government’s safety
net. We
speak to families every day
who can’t keep the wolf from the
door.
“Without more
support, tens
of thousands of
renters are
facing the very real prospect of
homelessness when
the evictions ban ends.
To defuse
this ticking time bomb, the
government must increase
benefit levels, so
they cover average
rents. It also needs
to change the
law to protect
renters – by
giving judges the power to stop
people automatically losing
their homes due to rent
arrears.”
-
The data
presented in this press release comes from numerous
sources. Most data on the labour market is
reported several months in
arrears. While the three-month
lockdown has impacted a lot on the way we live and work,
interventions such as the furlough scheme and other
employment support may
be staving off real
unemployment in the short
term. Many businesses will
be waiting to see the extent of the damage to the economy
before making decisions on how to adjust to the post lock
down world.
-
Similarly, even if some businesses expect to
have to shed workers, they will need to give notice, or
conduct consultations if they intend to make workers
redundant.
-
Claimant
count data has been produced
by Department
for Work
and Pensions to
help track the impact of the coronavirus lockdown. This
experimental
statistic tracks all who are
claiming some form of work
related (employment) benefit.
Because DWP have made these types of benefits more
generous, more may have decided to
claim.
-
DWP also provide
the number of UC claimants. This data is updated
monthly.
-
Vacancies data comes
from ONS Vacancy survey, which looks at the number of job
roles being advertised. This
data is seasonally adjusted, which means it accounts for
the peaks and troughs in workforce demand seen at different
times of the year (to account for seasonal
work).
-
The real time pay as your earn data
comes from
PAYE payment
system, used
to pay most workers.
-
Weekly hours worked comes from ONS Labour Force
Survey and will likely
account for those working less due to lockdown or those on
furlough.
