The number of open positions in U.K. has decreased for 8th consecutive time as businesses put the slowdown in hiring on economic concerns
As per the data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), job vacancies in the United Kingdom (U.K.) have fallen for the 8th time in a row as companies blamed economic pressures for holding back on hiring new staff.
The official figures come a day ahead of Wednesday’s Budget when the Chancellor to the Exchequer – Jeremy Hunt is expected to set out plans to encourage people back into work. The number of jobs on offer between December 2022 and February 2023 fell by 51,000 compared with the 3 months before.
Taking it to twitter, ONS tweeted :
There were 1.124 million job vacancies on average across December 2022 to February 2023.
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) March 14, 2023
This was down 51,000 on the previous quarter, as employers continue to cite economic pressures.
➡ https://t.co/Nawgq116z0 pic.twitter.com/9uDg7vSEMI
The rate of economic inactivity, people aged between 16 to 64 years who are not in work and not seeking a job, dipped to 21.3% between November 2022 and January 2023. This was driven by younger people aged between 16 to 24 years either getting jobs or looking for work.
However, there are still 9 million economically inactive people who are not part of the workforce either because they are students, have retired or are suffering from long-term illness.
It is anticipated that Jeremy Hunt will detail how the Government intends to entice people back into work. One measure expected to be announced is a boost to the amount that people can save for their pensions before it is taxed.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman of Recruitment Firm Reed – James Reed said, “Actually there are over 300,000 more vacancies than there were this time pre-pandemic, three years ago, so the labour market is pretty buoyant still which is surprising many people.”
While vacancies have fallen, they still remain very high. Wages are growing in cash terms versus last year but are still well below the inflation rate. On a month-to-month basis though, there is some evidence that pay growth is starting to stall.
With unemployment still very low by international standards, and employment high, the jobs market remains a bright spot in the figures. This has underpinned a consumer more resilient than might be expected to the massive energy price shock.
With the global financial system exhibiting some fragility after bank collapses in the United States (U.S.), the Bank of England could decide to hold off on further rate rises next week.
The ONS said that the average weekly salary in the U.K., excluding bonuses, in January stood at £ 589, up by £ 1 on a month before. Throughout 2022, the average salary rose by nearly £ 3 a month. That was not enough to keep up with the cost of living. The average salary fell by 2.4% in the 3 months to January 2023 as compared to the same period last year after taking account of rising prices or inflation.
While the rate of inflation is falling, it remains high at 10.1%. The ONS also detailed that there were 220,000 working days lost to strike action in January 2023. However, this was far lower than 822,000 recorded in December 2022, when widespread industrial action hit areas such as postal deliveries and train services.
