Full-time rise as UK job market grows in summer sun
11 September 2013
A summer of optimism may turn into an autumn of action for the job market, with employment up in the three months to the end of July, buoyed by an increase in full-time jobs, and the unemployment rate dropping from 7.8% to 7.7%.
Wed, 11 Sep 2013A summer of optimism may turn into an autumn of action for the job market, with employment up in the three months to the end of July, buoyed by an increase in full-time jobs, and the unemployment rate dropping from 7.8% to 7.7%.
A further 80,000 people overall were in work in the quarter, when compared with the period February to April – made up of an additional 94,000 in full-time work, while there was a 14,000 fall in part-time jobs. There are also 462,000 more people in full-time work than in the period May-July 2011, and the number of part-time workers has risen by half that amount.
It has previously been noted that while the number of people in work has remained eye-catchingly low through the recession, much of this has been down to a reduction in overall hours worked, as part-time jobs rose while full-time positions declined.
The total number of hours worked per week for May to July were 958.2m, up 7.7m on the previous quarter and 23.3m on a year before.
However, youth unemployment remains a concern, with the unemployment rate for people aged 16-17 creeping up 1.7 percentage points on the quarter to 38%, and for those aged 18-24 by 0.3 points to 18.9%.
‘Human health & social work activities’ contributed 117,000 new jobs to the market between June 2012 and June 2013, the highest of any sector, while the ‘Other jobs’ category shed 48,000 roles.
Job vacancy growth also continued, with 531,000 jobs available in the period June to August, up 7,000 on March to May. Earlier this week, recruiter.co.uk reported the findings of the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs, showing temp recruitment through agencies at its highest level since 1998.
Today’s ONS data also shows an ongoing slide in the number of people employed in the public sector. This dropped to 5.67m in June, down 34,000 on three months previously, making four consecutive years of drops in public sector jobs.
With private sector employment rising, the proportion of the UK workforce employed in the public sector is now 19%, down from a high of 22.1% in December 2009.
Lizzie Crowley, senior researcher at charitable research body The Work Foundation, says the figures “show positive signs of labour market growth”. However, she adds: “But there has been little impact on the youth labour market and wage growth remains sluggish.”
Director of policy of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation Tom Hadley comments: “Looking ahead, the huge challenge we face is ensuring that there are enough workers with the right skills to meet this demand. More efforts should be focused on addressing this skills gap rather than picking holes in flexible working arrangements.”
Mark Beatson, the chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, says: “We have also now started to see increasing optimism in more general surveys of business sentiment, such as the purchasing managers' surveys.
“This suggests the employment market will remain buoyant in coming months. Jobs growth could even accelerate if the economy is indeed growing more quickly than had been expected.”
A further 80,000 people overall were in work in the quarter, when compared with the period February to April – made up of an additional 94,000 in full-time work, while there was a 14,000 fall in part-time jobs. There are also 462,000 more people in full-time work than in the period May-July 2011, and the number of part-time workers has risen by half that amount.
It has previously been noted that while the number of people in work has remained eye-catchingly low through the recession, much of this has been down to a reduction in overall hours worked, as part-time jobs rose while full-time positions declined.
The total number of hours worked per week for May to July were 958.2m, up 7.7m on the previous quarter and 23.3m on a year before.
However, youth unemployment remains a concern, with the unemployment rate for people aged 16-17 creeping up 1.7 percentage points on the quarter to 38%, and for those aged 18-24 by 0.3 points to 18.9%.
‘Human health & social work activities’ contributed 117,000 new jobs to the market between June 2012 and June 2013, the highest of any sector, while the ‘Other jobs’ category shed 48,000 roles.
Job vacancy growth also continued, with 531,000 jobs available in the period June to August, up 7,000 on March to May. Earlier this week, recruiter.co.uk reported the findings of the REC/KPMG Report on Jobs, showing temp recruitment through agencies at its highest level since 1998.
Today’s ONS data also shows an ongoing slide in the number of people employed in the public sector. This dropped to 5.67m in June, down 34,000 on three months previously, making four consecutive years of drops in public sector jobs.
With private sector employment rising, the proportion of the UK workforce employed in the public sector is now 19%, down from a high of 22.1% in December 2009.
Lizzie Crowley, senior researcher at charitable research body The Work Foundation, says the figures “show positive signs of labour market growth”. However, she adds: “But there has been little impact on the youth labour market and wage growth remains sluggish.”
Director of policy of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation Tom Hadley comments: “Looking ahead, the huge challenge we face is ensuring that there are enough workers with the right skills to meet this demand. More efforts should be focused on addressing this skills gap rather than picking holes in flexible working arrangements.”
Mark Beatson, the chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, says: “We have also now started to see increasing optimism in more general surveys of business sentiment, such as the purchasing managers' surveys.
“This suggests the employment market will remain buoyant in coming months. Jobs growth could even accelerate if the economy is indeed growing more quickly than had been expected.”
