Unemployment at new low


Unemployment appeared to fall to its lowest rate since 1974, in the June-August period, and stood at 3.5%. 


However, that was attributed to a further increase in the economic inactivity rate (to 21.7%) driven by the number of students and those who are long-term sick.


The employment rate is still below pre-pandemic standards. But the number of payrolled employees continues to rise and is up by 2.5% compared its pre-pandemic level (after a rise of 730,000 since February 2020). The number of job vacancies has tailed off slightly but still stands at 1,246,000.


The median in pay settlements monitored through LRD’s Payline database has notched up to 5.5% on lowest basic rates in the three months to August and has moved to 5.9% in the three months to September (see LRD’s Workplace Report, November 2022, page 2). 


That trend seems to apply also in the public sector, but both sectors continue to trail well behind inflation. 


Average Weekly Earnings growth including bonus payments (“total pay”) settled at 5.8% for the year to August (5.6% on “regular pay” excluding bonuses). 


However, those figures include a continuing private/public sector divide, 6.4% against 2.6% respectively (2.4% on “regular pay” in the public sector).