Job vacancies soar to RECORD high of nearly a million
Job vacancies soar to RECORD high of nearly a million and payroll numbers rise as Rishi Sunak hails ‘promising’ signs for UK’s recovery – despite fears of redundancies when furlough scheme ends
- Job vacancies hit a record high of nearly a million in the three months to July
- ONS figures showed sharp rise in payroll numbers in July, near to pre-Covid level
- Unemployment fell despite fears of redundancies when furlough scheme ends
Job vacancies have hit a record high and unemployment dipped as the UK’s recovery continues – despite fears of a wave of redundancies when the furlough scheme ends.
Available posts spiked to a high of 953,000 in the three months to July, and the jobless rate dropped 0.2 percentage points to 4.7 per cent between April and June.
Meanwhile, there was a sharp 182,000 rise in the number on payrolls in July – although it was still 201,000 lower than before coronavirus hit.
Wages also surged ahead, with total pay up 8.8 per cent in April-June, largely due to the warping effect of the pandemic on figures.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak hailed ‘promising’ signs, but warned there could still be ‘bumps in the road’.
Available posts spiked to a high of 953,000 in the three months to July
Available posts spiked to a high of 953,000 in the three months to July, and the jobless rate dropped 0.2 percentage points to 4.7 per cent between April and June
ONS Deputy National Statistician Jonathan Athow said: ‘The world of work continues to rebound robustly from the effects of the pandemic.
‘The number of people on payroll was up again strongly and has now grown over half a million in the past three months, regaining about four-fifths of the fall seen at the start of the pandemic.
‘Meanwhile early survey figures show that the number of job vacancies passed one million for the first time ever in July.
‘As large parts of the economy started to reopen in recent months, the number of hours worked went past one billion a week for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
‘There was no sign of redundancies starting to pick up in our survey data ahead of the furlough scheme beginning to wind down, and Insolvency Service figures for July suggest the same.’
Mr Sunak said: ‘Today’s figures show that our Plan for Jobs is working – saving people’s jobs and getting people back into work.
‘I know there could still be bumps in the road but the data is promising – there are now more employees on payrolls than at any point since March 2020 and the number of people on furlough is the lowest since the scheme launched.
‘We are continuing to support people across the country to boost their skills and find great jobs, for example through apprenticeships, our Kickstart scheme and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.’
Wages also surged ahead, with total pay up 8.8 per cent in April-June, largely due to the warping effect of the pandemic on figures
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