Latest news with #ONS
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
London suffers worst unemployment rate in UK as Chancellor admits 'more to do' on jobs
London continues to have the highest rate of unemployment in Britain, new data has revealed, as the Chancellor admitted the Government has "more to do" to get people into work. Some 6% of Londoners (311,000 people) aged 16 to 65 in the capital are seeking work, figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday show. Meanwhile one in five people in the city are classed as 'economically inactive', meaning they do not have job and are not actively looking for one. This figure includes full time students, people who took early retirement, family carers and those who are unable to work because of long-term sickness or disability. ONS figures show the rate of UK unemployment struck 4.7% in the three months to June. It was the same as the previous three-month period, which had been the highest level since June 2021. Meanwhile, average earnings growth, excluding bonuses, remained at 5% for the period to June. The West Midlands has the second highest unemployment rate (5.8%), followed by the North West (4.9%). Northern Ireland has the lowest (2.4%). Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Tuesday insisted there was "really positive news" in new labour market figures but acknowledged there was "more to do" after the data showed Britain's jobless rate remained at a four-year high in the latest quarter. "There is more to do, but in the first year, we've managed to return stability to the economy, we're growing the economy and reducing costs, particularly mortgage costs for hard-pressed families," she said during a trip to Belfast on Tuesday. UK vacancies tumbled by 44,000 over the three months to July to 718,000 - the lowest number of job openings since April 2021, the ONS data shows. The number of Britons claiming Universal Credit (UC) also hit a record high of eight million. Claimants jumped by more than a million in a year - from 6.9 million people in July last year. A City Hall report earlier this year revealed that more than 900,000 Londoners say they are unable to work full-time because of a long-term health condition – including a rising number of younger adults in the capital blaming mental health issues. It showed that over the last decade, there has been a 62% increase in the number of Londoners reporting a work-limiting mental health condition. Ms Reeves acknowledged there had been a decline in the quarter but added that there was "really positive news" in the figures, with some 384,000 more jobs in the economy than there were just over a year ago. "The most important figure today is that there are 384,000 more people in work than when I became Chancellor," she said. "Everybody who can work should be in work, and as a government, we're committed to helping more people back to work. There are huge opportunities in our economy." Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused the Labour Government of creating "an economic doom-spiral". Speaking to reporters on the Isle of Wight, she said: "Labour has presided over unemployment rising every single month since they came into office. "Unemployment is up, growth is down, inflation is up, cost of living is putting a real squeeze on people's pockets. "And it's because of Rachel Reeves's budget last year. I'm very worried about what's going to come in the next budget. "We're seeing tax rises, even taxes on pensions, as potential solutions. "This is an economic doom-spiral that Labour is creating. They do not have a proper economic plan.'
Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Britain loses 283,000 working days to strikes in half a year
Britain lost more than 280,000 working days to strikes in the first half of this year, new figures show. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found 283,000 work days were missed because of labour disputes between January and June. The figures come despite Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, giving inflation-busting pay rises to millions of public sector workers last year in the hope of ending industrial action for good. February and March were the worst months for walkouts, with 55,000 days lost in each month. There were 50,000 strike days in January, 48,000 in April, 37,000 in May and 38,000 in June, the statistics watchdog also found. The Guido Fawkes political blog estimated that the hundreds of thousands lost days were the equivalent to more than 1,073 years of lost work. The number of lost working days is down significantly from the first six months of 2023, when more than 1.7 million days were lost, and the first half of 2024, when there were 464,000 lost days. However, the 280,000 total is still higher than any year between 2016 to 2022, suggesting the pay deals offered by the Government have only been partially effective in stopping strikes. The figures do not account for strikes held at the end of July by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, after the Government rejected their demands for a further pay rise of 26 per cent. Walkouts by resident doctors between 2022 and 2024 led to 1.5 million cancellations in the NHS and prompted Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, to agree to a 28.7 per cent pay rise over three years. While Mr Streeting's pay deal ended that round of strikes, the BMA union subsequently disputed figures that had been set out by the NHS and went on to demand more money. NHS England said that fewer than a third of junior doctors turned out to strike in July, with turnout down by 7.5 per cent on the previous round of industrial action a year previously. The bin strikes in Birmingham by the trade union Unite are ongoing, and Unite has warned that the dispute could last until December after workers voted to continue industrial action. The strikes began in January after Unite claimed Birmingham city council told the bin workers they would face pay cuts of up to £8,000 – representing a quarter of wages for some workers. Talks have been held via Acas, the consolidation service, but the dispute remains deadlocked despite Labour urging Unite to call off the action and reach a deal.
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
UK employers cut back on bonuses and hiring as economic slowdown hits jobs market
Employers have cut annual pay increases and pared back hiring in recent months as the economic slowdown took its toll on the jobs market. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released on Tuesday, showed that UK unemployment edged higher in the three months to June but the official jobless rate was unchanged at 4.7%, a four-year high. Pay growth including bonuses dropped from 5% to 4.6% over the same period. However, stripping out one-off awards, pay growth remained at 5%, suggesting employers had cut back on incentives. Giving a strong indication of employers' reluctance to hire new staff, the vacancy rate fell by 44,000. The drop of more than 5% in the three months to June on the previous quarter was the 37th consecutive fall in vacancies and took the total to well below pre-pandemic levels at 718,000. The ONS said its research 'suggests some firms may not be recruiting new workers or replacing workers who have left'. Rachel Reeves conceded that the government had 'more to do' but defended her stewardship of the economy. During a visit to Belfast on Tuesday, the chancellor said Labour had been 'creating more jobs' since entering office. 'The most important figure today is that there are 384,000 more people in work than when I became chancellor,' she said. 'Everybody who can work should be in work, and as a government, we're committed to helping more people back to work. There are huge opportunities in our economy.' Last month, data showed the unemployment rate had risen to 4.7% in the three months to May, while pay growth slipped from 5.3% to 5%. Suren Thiru, economics director at the accountancy body, the ICAEW, said the rise in employer national insurance in April was still taking a toll on firms hiring new staff. 'The UK jobs market is facing more pain in the coming months with higher labour costs likely to lift unemployment moderately higher, particularly given growing concerns over more tax rises in this autumn's budget,' he said. The figures supported the Bank of England's view that the jobs market and pay growth were weakening, he said, but was unlikely to bring forward further interest rate cuts after a quarter-point cut to 4% last week. 'While these disheartening figures will reassure rate-setters that last week's policy loosening was the right call, the pace at which the labour market is currently cooling is unlikely to be sufficient to prompt another rate cut in September,' he added. Financial markets had expected unemployment to remain steady at 4.7% and for the rise in average earnings, including bonuses, to slow, from 5% to 4.7%. The finance and business services sector, which pays out more in bonuses than other industries, had the lowest annual regular growth rate, at 3.1%. Recent surveys have shown businesses reducing the number of job postings as they grapple with rising employment costs and worry about the economic outlook. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said on Monday that hiring intentions among Britain's businesses remain at a record low, with young people hit hardest by the drop in recruitment. Almost three in five (57%) of private sector employers said they planned to recruit staff in the next three months – compared with 65% in autumn 2024 – as they dealt with the £25bn rise in employer national insurance contributions costs and higher minimum wage that took effect in April. Hannah Slaughter, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation thinktank, said that while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.7%, it was up from 4.2% a year ago and 3.9% before the pandemic. She said: 'The UK's post-pandemic labour market was red hot. But that period is officially over – the labour market is loose and getting looser, having shed 165,000 payrolled jobs over the past eight months.' Slaughter said the job losses were concentrated in low-paying sectors such as retail and hospitality. She said it meant the government was likely to push back against campaigns for a big increase to the minimum wage next year, fearing it would lead to even larger job losses. Private sector pay grew by 4.8% in the year to June. Adjusted by inflation the increase was 0.7%, maintaining a long run of real-terms increases in average earnings. Public sector pay increased by 5.7%, the ONS said. Helen Whately, the shadow spokesperson for work and pensions, said Labour's record since coming to power last year included 10 months of consecutive monthly increases in unemployment. 'That means more families struggling to pay the bills and more people signing on for benefits,' she said. Separately on Tuesday, the recruiter PageGroup warned of a 'challenging' hiring market in its first half, with revenue falling 11% to £798.4m and pre-tax profit slumping 99% to just £0.2m. In its UK business, revenue slipped 13.6%. Its chief executive, Nicholas Kirk, said the 'ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty' was affecting confidence and extending the time it took for an employer to hire a new worker.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Unemployment soars by 200,000 under Labour
Advertisement Unemployment has risen by more than 200,000 since Labour came to power according to stark official figures that underline the government's dismal economic record. The jobless total stood at 1.67 million in the three months to June this year, the highest since the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That was 206,000 higher than the same period a year ago, just before Labour came to office. The downturn in the jobs market is widely blamed on Rachel Reeves's £25 billion raid on employer national insurance as well as a sharp rise in the minimum wage and plans to impose a raft of new workers' rights – all of which are making it costlier to hire people. Vacancies have also been falling sharply, with the number of roles up for grabs last month down by 145,000 compared with a year ago. The ONS said that 'some firms may not be recruiting new workers or replacing workers who have left'. And a separate measure of UK payrolled employees fell by 8,000 in July – the tenth decline in the past 12 months, with the falls concentrated in the hospitality and retail sector. It means total payroll numbers have fallen by 164,000 over the past year. The biggest fall in payrolled employees was among 25-34 year olds, down by 106,000 since July 2024. Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith said: 'The data shows young people seeking their first job hit the hardest. 'Labour's NI jobs tax and more red tape on employers mean the "deal" of studying hard and getting good grades in the hope of a job is breaking. 'They don't understand business and didn't listen to the warnings.' Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said: 'These figures signal growing turmoil in the UK labour market, with April's leap in employment costs and a flagging economy pushing more businesses to actively cut headcount and cap pay awards.' Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 'There is a limit to how many additional costs businesses can absorb. It's crucial that there are no more taxes on business in the forthcoming budget.' The figures also revealed a slowdown in wage growth from 5 per cent to 4.6 per cent. Isaac Stell, investment manager at Wealth Club, said that 'points to growing signs of economic strain and an absence of momentum'. ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: 'Taken together, these latest figures point to a continued cooling of the labour market.' The figures did nothing to boost Bank of England interest rate cut hopes . Rate-setters on the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) are split over whether to cut rates further amid signs of economic weakness or leave them on hold to guard against inflation pressures. With the unemployment rate unchanged on the past month at 4.7 per cent and the latest fall in payroll numbers slightly milder than in previous months, the chance of a September reduction faded further, economists said. Markets now see the chances of one more cut this year to 3.75 per cent at little better than 50/50. Matt Swannell, Chief Economic Advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: 'Further interest rate cuts should be expected, but the pace remains the big question.
ITV News
16 hours ago
- Business
- ITV News
Unemployment at four year high as job vacancies fall
Unemployment in the UK remains at a four-year high, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Unemployment reached 4.7% in the three months to June, while the number of job vacancies fell by 44,000 in roughly the same period, with the arts, entertainment and recreation sectors hardest hit. The number of payrolled employees fell by 66,000, with an estimated 26,000 drop between May and June, the data released on Tuesday showed. Wage growth remained at 5%, in real terms, a 1.5% rise once inflation is taken into account, due to an uptick in the cost of living in recent months. Rachel Reeves said more needed to be done to support people seeking training and skills to enter the UK workforce. ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: 'Taken together, these latest figures point to a continued cooling of the labour market. 'The number of employees on payroll has now fallen in 10 of the last 12 months, with these falls concentrated in hospitality and retail. 'Job vacancies, likewise, have continued to fall, also driven by fewer opportunities in these industries.' Speaking from Belfast on Tuesday, the Chancellor Rachel Reeevs said: "Although the number of people who are unemployed increased slightly... The number of people who are economically inactive actually fell by much more." Reeves highlighted the "encouraging" news that this meant more people were seeking employment than before, but added there was "more to do," as she restated the government's commitment to ensure people had the skills they needed to fill the available vacancies. The Conservatives were quick to blame Labour's increase in employers' national insurance contributions for the unemployment figures. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch claimed the Conservatives had warned that the policy would lead to job losses, and further tax rises were now inevitable in the chancellor's autumn budget. Speaking on Tuesday morning, skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith defended the government's policies, highlighting the government's commitment to increasing opportunities for young people seeking training to enter the workforce. Smith said Labour's plan for job creation went hand-in-hand with her department's intention to build more houses in the UK. On Tuesday, she named the locations for ten technical excellence colleges across England. The government hope these colleges will train more than 40,000 builders, electricians, carpenters and plumbers to build the one and a half million new houses promised by Labour. The Department for Education said the initiative was part of reducing its reliance on foreign labour.
