Highest unemployment in over a decade Recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics reveal unemployment hasn't been such a concern since 1997. Monster says online recruitment is down although some sectors have risen since February. Acco
Highest unemployment in over a decade
Recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics reveal unemployment hasn't been such a concern since 1997. Monster says online recruitment is down overall although some sectors have risen since February.
According to the Office for National Statstics, the number of unemployed people, the unemployment rate and the claimant count have all increased, while the number of vacancies has fallen. Growth in average earnings, both including and excluding bonuses, has fallen. However, the number of inactive people of working age and the inactivity rate are little changed.
The unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent for the three months to February 2009, up 0.6 over the previous quarter and up 1.5 over the year. The number of unemployed people increased by 177,000 over the quarter and by 486,000 over the year, to reach 2.10 million. The unemployment level and rate have not been higher since 1997.
The redundancies level for the three months to February 2009 was 270,000, up 45,000 over the quarter and up 162,000 over the year. This is the highest figure since comparable records began in 1995.
The employment rate for people of working age was 73.8 percent for the three months to February 2009, down 0.4 from the previous quarter and down 1.1 over the year. The rate has not been lower since the three months to December 1998. The number of people in employment for the three months to February 2009 was 29.27 million, down 126,000 over the quarter and down 227,000 over the year.
Job vacancies meanwhile are at the lowest levels they have been since records began in 2001. The largest falls are reported to be occurring in distribution, hotels and restaurants (down 26,000) and finance and business services (down 19,000).
The inactivity rate for people of working age was 20.7 percent for the three months to February 2009, virtually unchanged over the previous quarter but down 0.1 over the year. The number of economically inactive people of working age fell by 5,000 over the quarter and by 9,000 over the year to reach 7.85 million.
The Monster Employment Index UK decreased by seven points in March, reversing the seasonal increase in online recruitment seen in February. Year-on-year, the index was down 77 points, or 41 percent - the steepest annual decline on record. Hugo Sellert said: "Overall, online recruitment in the UK has fallen once again. There is cause for optimism however, in some sectors. Hiring of education and production workers rose in March and healthcare has shown encouraging annual growth."
Created on: 23-Apr-09 13:57
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