This follows a survey posted here Monday that found that a third of public sector employers are set reduce their head count over the coming three months.
(…) The jobless total fell 3,000 to 2.46m in the
three months to December, the second successive fall in the monthly figures, according to the Office for National Statistics. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 per cent of the workforce.But the number claiming jobseekers’ allowance rose 23,500 to 1.64m in January, the highest level since April 1997. Economists had been expecting a fall of 10,000 after a revised drop of 9,600 last month. The increase was the biggest since last July. (…)
(…) The number of people classed as economically inactive rose 72,000 on the quarter to 8.08m, the highest since records began in 1971, driven by a rise in the number of students – highlighting the extent to which young people are turning to study to avoid the dole.(…)
Weekly Earnings Point to Low Spending
Average weekly earnings growth remained subdued, rising by 0.8 per cent in the three months to December compared with a year ago. Excluding bonuses, average weekly earnings were 1.2 per cent higher at £425 compared with a year earlier (…).
The main drag on earnings growth came from the private sector, where salaries grew a record-low 0.2%, and the financial and business sector, which also posted a record-low increase of 0.3%. The ONS also said that average weekly earnings across the U.K.’s dominant services sector rose at a record low pace of 1.1% over the same period. All earnings records began in 2001. From a month earlier, however, average weekly earnings for the whole economy rose 1.4%, up from the record-low rate of 1.1% in November.
Related posts:
- U.K. Jobless Claims Slip for Fifth Month
- UK’s Unemployment Claims Drop
- U.K. Unemployment Drops
- UK SERVICES PMI AT 56.5; EMPLOYMENT GROWS
- EUROZONE SERVICES PMI REMAINS STRONG; UK LOSES MOMENTUM
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