This represents a rate of 6.4% in the quarter, which is the lowest level recorded since 2008 – a near six-year low. Those people claiming the Jobseeker’s Allowance also fell for the 21st consecutive month, dropping by 33,600 to 1.01 million.
More importantly, the number of young people, those aged between 16-24 years old, also dropped by 102,000 to 767,000. This is a decline of 200,000 from the same period last year and represents the biggest fall since records began in 1992.
Interestingly, 40% of the increase in employment overall came from people who were not born in the UK. Whilst the number of people employed and born in the UK, rose by 502,000. 326,000 people not born in the UK enhanced those figures.
Many of these 326,000 came from what are known as the A8 countries, those from the former Soviet bloc; states such as Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland, who represent the newer members of the EU since 2004.
Commenting on these latest encouraging figures Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary said: “In the past, many people in our society were written off and trapped in unemployment and welfare dependency. “But through our welfare reforms, we are helping people to break that
cycle and get back into work.”
Good as this news is, average wage growth remains stunted. The ONS recorded that average wages, excluding bonuses, rose by only 0.6% in the year to June, registering the slowest increase since records began in 2001. Even worse, including bonuses, wages actually fell 0.2%. There is an argument here that employees are accepting nominal wage increases under the fear of losing their jobs and not wishing to ‘rock the boat’.
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