UK vacancies fall QoQ for 17th consecutive period in Sept-Nov quarter

Vacancies fell QoQ for the 17th consecutive period, the longest consecutive run of quarterly falls ever recorded but still above pre-COVID-19 levels, ONS said in a release.

Annual growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) in Great Britain was 7.3 per cent in the August-October quarter; this growth continues to remain strong but is not as high as in recent periods.

Annual growth in employees' average total pay (including bonuses) was 7.2 per cent.

Annual average regular earnings growth for the public sector was 6.9 per cent in August to October 2023, and is among the highest regular annual growth rates since comparable records began in 2001. Annual average regular earnings growth for the private sector was 7.3 per cent.

The estimated number of workforce jobs in the United Kingdom in September this year was a record 36.8 million—an increase of 210,000 from June. The total number of jobs includes both employee jobs and self-employment jobs.

The estimated number of employee jobs has been on a largely upwards trend since September 2020, resulting in a record high of 32.5 million in September this year.

The provisional estimate of payrolled employees for November was largely unchanged compared with the revised October figure—down by 13,000 to 30.2 million.

Because of the increased uncertainty around the Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates, ONS also published an alternative series of estimates of UK employment, unemployment and economic inactivity.

These alternative estimates for August to October 2023 showed that the UK employment rate (for those aged 16 to 64 years) was largely unchanged on the quarter at 75.7 per cent. The unemployment rate (for those aged 16 years and over) was largely unchanged on the quarter at 4.2 per cent. The economic inactivity rate (for those aged 16 to 64 years) was largely unchanged on the quarter at 20.9 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)