Job vacancies hit a record 1.3 million as companies fight for workers and pubs say staff are resigning because they don’t want to work on weekends, but the British are still facing a lot of pressure with wages backed by inflation by the largest margin in a DECADE.
- Official figures show job vacancies hit new record 1.3 million in May
- Unemployment fell and inactivity also fell, but still above before the pandemic
- The British are still facing great pressure as wages rise more slowly than inflation
By James Tapsfield, political editor of Mailonline
Posted: 07:48, 14 June 2022 | Updated: 10:33, June 14, 2022
Today, the desperate struggle of companies for the workforce has been highlighted, as the figures showed that job vacancies are reaching a new record and unemployment has fallen by 0.2 percentage points.
Official figures showed 1.3 million unfilled jobs in the three months to May, while payrolls rose 90,000 from April to a new high of 29.6 million last month.
Meanwhile, unemployment fell to 3.8% in the April quarter and inactivity fell, although it is still above pre-pandemic levels.
The figures were revealed amid more examples of companies struggling to get staff, with reports that people are leaving pubs because they don’t want to work on weekends.
However, overheating of the labor market is not sparing workers a wage constraint, with inflation outpacing wage increases by the largest margin in a decade.
Official figures show that taking into account inflation, regular pay fell by 2.2% between February and April, while even including bonuses it barely broke 0.4%.
Rishi Sunak said the labor market was “robust” and noted the low level of layoffs, despite fears that the economy would come to a standstill amid the Ukraine crisis.
Sam Beckett, head of economic statistics for the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS), said: “Today’s figures continue to show a mixed picture of the labor market.
Official figures showed 1.3 million unfilled jobs in the three months to May
Official figures show that taking inflation into account, ordinary wages fell by 2.2 per cent between February and April, while even including bonuses barely broke 0.4 per cent.
“While the number of people employed rose again in the three months to April, the figure remains below pre – pandemic levels.
“In addition, although the number of people not working or looking for work has fallen slightly in the last period, it remains very high where it was before the Covid-19 attack.
“At the same time, unemployment is approaching a minimum of 50 years and there have been a record number of redundancies.
“Job vacancies are also slowly rising. With a new record high of 1.3 million, this is more than half a million more than before the start of the pandemic.”
He added: “The high level of bonuses continues to dampen the effects of rising prices on the total income of some workers, but if you exclude bonuses, payment in real terms is falling at a faster rate in more than ‘a decade’.
Sunak said: “Today’s statistics show that our labor market remains robust with layoffs at an all-time low.
“Helping people work is the best way to support families in the long run, and we continue to support people in new and better jobs.
“We are also providing immediate help with rising prices: 8 million of the most vulnerable families will receive at least £ 1,200 in direct payments this year, and all families will receive £ 400.”
But shadow labor and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “Labor should be the best defense against rising cost of living, but millions of workers are in poverty, real wages they are plummeting, overall employment figures are below pre-pandemic levels, and unemployment benefits are not higher than before the pandemic. ”
Figures released yesterday showed that GDP fell for the second month in a row in April after falling 0.1% in March, underscoring the threat of “stagflation” as inflation rises.
Rishi Sunak said the labor market was “robust” and noted the low level of layoffs, despite fears that the economy would come to a standstill amid the Ukraine crisis.
Martin Beck, chief financial adviser at EY Item Club, said the latest resilient payroll and employment figures are likely to give the Bank of England a “green light” to raise interest rates once again when it meets on Thursday .
He said: “Higher borrowing costs will increase the cost of living pressures that households face.
“But with such low unemployment and job security indicators, as evidenced by high vacancy numbers, the consumer sector is still not without support.”
Employment Minister Mims Davies said: “Today the unemployment rate remains close to the 50-year low, and still below pre-pandemic levels, with nearly two million women more employed than 2010 “.