ONS Labour Market Overview: September
We have compiled a summary of the significant findings from the latest ONS report for September. This report provides crucial estimates and statistics related to employment, unemployment, economic inactivity, and other important indicators for the UK. Through this, we can gain valuable insights into the current state of the labour market.
Employment/Unemployment Rates
From May to July 2023, the UK employment rate was estimated at 75.5%, which is 0.5 percentage points lower than what was recorded in February to April 2023. The decrease in employment in this quarter was mainly driven by full-time self-employed workers.
The UK unemployment rate in this quarter increased by 0.5 percentage points to 4.3%. This increase in unemployment was driven by people who were unemployed for up to 12 months.
Job Vacancies
From June to August 2023, there was a fall in vacancies in the quarter for the 14th consecutive period. The estimated number of vacancies fell by 64,000 in the quarter to 989,000.
Economic Activity
From May to July 2023, the economic activity rate increased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 21.1%. The driver for the increase in economic activity during the latest quarter was people aged 16 to 24 years. As well as this, those inactive because of long-term sickness increased to another record high. On the other hand, those inactive due to looking after family or home decreased to a record low.
Labour Disputes
281,000 working days were lost due to labour disputes in the month of July. The majority of the strikes were in the Education and Health and Social Work sectors.
Payroll
In August 2023, the estimated number of payrolled employees is largely unchanged on the month as it’s down 1000 on the revised July figure, to 30.1 million. This estimate should be treated as provisional and will likely be revised when more data is received in the following month.
Annual Growth
May to July 2023 saw the same annual growth rate as the previous 3-month period, recorded at 7.8% (excluding bonuses) and remains the highest regular annual growth rate in comparable records since 2001.
The annual growth in employees’ average total pay (including bonuses) was 8.5%. This rate was affected due to the NHS and Civil Service one-off bonus payments being made in June and July 2023.
In real terms (taking into account inflation using CPI, including owner occupier’s housing costs), annual growth for total pay rose by 1.2% and 0.6% for regular pay.
In conclusion, the Office for National Statistics’ September report provides insights into the UK’s economy and labour market. Key findings include a dip in employment and a rise in unemployment, with job vacancies continuing to decline. Economic activity increased slightly, driven by the 16-24 age group. Labour disputes from the Education and Health sectors saw a rise in lost workdays. Payroll numbers remained mostly steady. Annual pay growth remained, with total pay affected by one-off bonus payments. After accounting for inflation, real pay growth remained modest.
Source: Labour market overview, UK – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
