Payrolled employees in UK rise 1.3% YoY in Jan 2024: ONS

While the number of payrolled employees continues to increase, the rate of annual growth is decreasing, ONS noted.

Payrolled employees for February this year increased by 20,000, or 0.1 per cent, month on month and by 368,000, or 1.2 per cent, YoY to 30.4 million, provisional estimates show.

The country’s employment rate (for those aged 16 to 64) was estimated at 75 per cent between November 2023 and January 2024, below estimates of a year ago and down in the latest quarter.

The unemployment rate (for those aged 16 years and over) was estimated at 3.9 per cent during the same period, above estimates of a year ago, but largely unchanged on the latest quarter.

The economic inactivity rate for those aged 16 to 64 years was 21.8 per cent during the period, above estimates of a year ago and increased in the latest quarter.

Between December last year and February this year, the estimated number of vacancies in the United Kingdom fell by 43,000 on the quarter to 908,000. Vacancies fell on the quarter for the 20th consecutive period but are still above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

"While pressures in the labour market continue to gradually ease, achieving sustainable growth requires a step change in efforts to remove barriers to work and unlock the business investment needed to boost productivity," said Matthew Percival, future of work & skills director at the Confederation of British Industry.

“With wages continuing to outpace inflation, alongside high levels of economic inactivity—including long-term sickness—the picture for businesses trying to recruit remains challenging,” noted Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

“Overall, the labour market is still much tighter than it was before the pandemic, and the long-term structural issues it faces have yet to be addressed. The BCC’s own research indicates the labour market remains tight for many. Unless we get more people back into the workplace then the risk of higher inflation and interest rates will persist,” Gratton added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)