Number of over-65s in work hits record 1 million mark, data shows
The number of jobless people in the UK has dropped slightly by 5,000 to remain broadly at 2.51 million, according to official figures.
This resulted in an unemployment rate of 7.8 per cent for February to April – unchanged from the previous three months, but a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to a year earlier.
The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that unemployment fell by 88,000 on the year and there were now 29.76 million people in work in the UK.
It also revealed that the number of people over the age of 65 in employment passed the 1 million mark for the first time – attributable both to fewer people choosing to retire and the expanding population in this age group.
Meanwhile, there were 950,000 unemployed 16-to 24-year-olds this quarter, down 43,000 from the previous three months.
The government pointed out that private sector employment had hit a record high, with 1.3 million more people in private sector jobs than in early 2010.
It added that the ONS statistics had found there were 46,000 more jobs in the private sector this quarter, which more than offset the 22,000 fall in public sector employment over the same period.
But there were opposing views on the latest pay data, which showed a 1.3 per cent increase in total pay, including bonuses, this quarter.
The CBI described the growth as “encouraging”, while the TUC said that decent pay rises had been “confined to the top bosses”. Although ONS found overall pay to be on the up, the increase still lagged behind the current inflation measure of 2.4 per cent.
Commenting on the overall labour market picture, the CIPD warned that was it was still “slow going”.
“We have seen very modest reductions in unemployment and youth unemployment this month, total hours worked have hardly changed and earnings growth remains very low in historical terms,” said CIPD chief economist, Mark Beatson.
He added that there were signs of improved progress ahead, but employers should be mindful of increasing competition for skills.
“The more positive economic indicators seen in the last couple of months may soon translate into faster growth in labour demand – with the rise in job vacancies suggesting this may already be starting to happen – posing new challenges for employers,” Beatson continued.
“Businesses tell us they’ve been struggling to find the right people with the right skills even when the labour market has been at its most sluggish. A stronger labour market suggests that the competition for talent that never went away entirely may be about to increase in intensity once again. Employers who want to steal a march on their competitors will need to be thinking hard about how they attract, retain and develop their workforces.”