Labour market indicators

A new report by the job postings website, Indeed, finds strong growth in advertised wage rates of 6.7% in the year in October.

On the other hand, they find that “job postings have seen a sustained and broad-based slowdown this year” and they expect this to continue into next year.

Zero hours contracts are becoming more common, with 1.9% of all postings in October mentioning zero hours arrangements, rising to 6% for personal care, hospitality and tourism roles.

Salary transparency has seen a big improvement; 72% of postings include some pay information compared to less than 50% before the pandemic.

Across the labour market, the Office for National Statistics records rising unemployment and a fall in vacancies.

Unemployment was estimated at 4.3% in July-September 2024, above estimates of a year ago. The employment rate was estimated at 74.8% in July-September 2024, largely unchanged on the year. However, the number of payrolled employees fell by 9,000 between August and September.

• The latest labour market statistics had not been released as this issue of Labour Research went to press. This is reflected in the tables below which replicate the figures given in our December 2024 issue.