ONS Comment on Today's Labour Market Figures

Commenting on today’s labour market figures, senior ONS statistician David Freeman said:

“Employment has continued to rise, while the unemployment rate remained at its lowest for over 40 years. Wages, both including and excluding bonuses, are continuing to increase, and slightly faster than inflation.”

The main points are as follows:

• Employment increased by 146,000 compared with the three months to January 2018 to a record high of 32.39 million.

• Unemployment fell by 38,000 compared with the three months to January 2018 to reach 1.42 million.

• While short and medium-term unemployment fell, long-term unemployment increased compared with the previous quarter.

• The number of part-time workers who want a full-time job has followed a general downward trend since the three months to July 2013 but has levelled off and remained stable in the latest quarter.

• Vacancies increased by 33,000 compared with a year ago to reach 818,000 in the three months to May 2018.

How is the UK economy doing in general?

“Manufacturing fell in the three months to April with electrical machinery and steel for infrastructure projects seeing reduced production. International demand continued to slow and the domestic market remained subdued. However, oil & gas production grew strongly in the aftermath of the Forties pipeline closure at the end of last year.  “While construction output saw a small bounceback in April after a poor start to the year, over the longer-term this sector continues to contract with significant falls across most types of work. “Construction orders fell for a second successive quarter after recent boosts from large rail projects. However, new housing orders reached their highest level since before the economic downturn.“The trade deficit widened as exports fell by more than imports, with exports of goods and services both declining. Exports of machinery, aircraft and pharmaceuticals all saw notable falls.”

ABC Note: Add your comments today.