The employment rate for the three months to May 2010 was 72.3 per cent, up 0.3 on the quarter. The number of people in employment increased by 160,000 on the quarter to reach 28.98 million. The quarterly increase in total employment was mainly driven by part-time employees, which increased by 117,000 on the quarter to reach 6.63 million, and self-employment, which rose by 59,000 on the quarter to reach 3.93 million. The number of full-time employees fell by 22,000 on the quarter to reach 18.20 million.
The unemployment rate for the three months to May 2010 was 7.8 per cent, down 0.1 on the quarter. The number of unemployed people fell by 34,000 over the quarter to reach 2.47 million. The number of people unemployed for up to six months fell by 54,000, to reach 1.16 million. However, the number of people unemployed for more than twelve months increased by 61,000 over the quarter to reach 787,000, the highest figure since the three months to March 1997.
The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (the claimant count) fell by 20,800 between May and June 2010 to reach 1.46 million. The number of claimants fell in all regions except the North East and Northern Ireland where small increases were recorded.
The inactivity rate for the three months to May 2010 was 21.3 per cent, down 0.2 on the quarter. The number of inactive people of working age fell by 62,000 over the quarter to reach 8.10 million. This is the first quarterly fall in inactivity since the three months to March 2009. Most categories of inactivity, including the number of students not in the labour market, fell over the quarter, but the number of people in the “long-term sick“ category increased by 54,000 to reach 2.07 million.
The number of vacancies for the three months to June 2010 was 486,000, up 10,000 over the quarter. The sector showing the largest quarterly increase was wholesaling, retailing and motor vehicle repairs, where the number of vacancies increased by 11,000 on the quarter to reach 95,000.
The earnings annual growth rate for total pay (including bonuses) was 2.7 per cent for the three months to May 2010, down from 4.1 per cent for the three months to April. Between these time periods, the earnings annual growth rate for the private sector fell from 4.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent while the growth rate for the public sector fell from 4.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent.
The earnings annual growth rate for regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 1.8 per cent for the three months to May 2010, down from 1.9 per cent for the three months to April.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Notes: People in employment, unemployed and economically inactive make up the total household population aged 16 and over, measured through the Labour Force Survey on a consistent basis since 1971.
Working age is defined as 16-64 for men and 16-59 for women.
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Labour Market Statistics