18 July 2012 – Jobs continue to be created leading to rise in employment
The Minister for Employment today welcomed a further increase in the number of people in work and a fall in unemployment as he met staff starting work after being recruited through the Government’s Work Programme.
The new figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, show a rise in employment compared to the previous quarter, up 181,000 to 29.35m. There has been a significant rise in people in full time employment, up 133,000 on the quarter.
Unemployment has fallen again down by 65,000 to 2.58 million (ILO measure).
The figures show more job opportunities are available, with the number of vacancies at 471,000, up 10,000 on the quarter and 12,000 on a year earlier.
The claimant count continues to be affected by changes in government policy. The number of people on Jobseeker’s Allowance rose 6,100 between May and June, but both reform of eligibility for lone parents benefits and the continued reassessment of people on Incapacity Benefits are likely to have added to the JSA caseload over this period.
The number of unemployed 16 to 24 year olds has fallen 10,000 on the quarter. Of those, the number of young people out of education and seeking work is now 724,000 and the number of full-time students looking for a job is 299,000.
The unemployment rate in the UK at 8.1 per cent remains lower than the EU (10.3), Eurozone (11.1) and our neighbours Ireland (14.6) and France (10.1).
The total number of people on the main out of work benefits is currently around 90,000 lower than in May 2010.
Minister for Employment Chris Grayling welcomed the figures as he visited a new TNT postal delivery centre in central London where 70 staff were starting work today. Many of them are aged 18 to 24 and recruited from the Work Programme, the Government’s payment-by-results scheme to help those at risk of long-term unemployment get back into work.
Mr Grayling said:
"This is an encouraging set of figures in what is still an incredibly difficult economic climate. Not only is unemployment falling but in overall terms there are now almost 100,000 less people on benefits since the 2010 election. We still have a long way to go but this is a step in the right direction."
TNT recruits who the Minister was due to meet today include:
Elizabeth Arinola, a 23 year old criminology graduate from Finsbury Park, she finished her voluntary job in March and out of work since. She joined Ingeus through the Work Programme and is delighted to be joining TNT Post as it is a new company and she sees the potential for career growth.
Lee Davis, a 22 year old from Camden, had been unemployed since he worked as a gas meter reader. After a year and a half out of work and taking part in the Work Programme, he jumped at the chance work for TNT Post having previously worked for Royal Mail one Christmas as a temporary postman.
Notes to Editors:
Background to labour market statistics: July 2012
This month's Labour Force Survey covers March to May 2012. The claimant count is for June 2012 and the vacancy count for April to June 2012.
The number of people in work rose this quarter
- 29.35 million people were in work in March to May 2012.
- the employment level rose 181 thousand on the previous quarter and 75 thousand on the year.
- the employment rate is 70.7%, up 0.3 points on the quarter but unchanged on the year.
ILO unemployment fell this quarter
- 2.58 million people were ILO unemployed in the March to May 2012 quarter, down by 65 thousand on the December 2011 to February 2012 period but up 132 thousand on the same quarter last year.
- the ILO unemployment rate is 8.1%, down 0.2 percentage points on the quarter but up 0.4 percentage points on the year.
The level of economic inactivity is down on the quarter and on the year
- the economic inactivity level is 9.21 million, down 61 thousand on the quarter and 121 thousand on the year.
- the economic inactivity rate is 22.9%, down 0.2 points on the quarter and 0.3 points on the year.
- excluding students, inactivity as a share of the 16-64 population is 17.4%, unchanged on the quarter but down 0.2 points on the year.
The number of people on JSA rose this month, but the number claiming one of the other main out-of-work benefits is improving
- claimant unemployment was 1,604 thousand in June 2012, up 6.1 thousand on the level in May 2012 and up 78.6 thousand on the year.
- the claimant unemployment rate, at 4.9%, is unchanged on the month but up 0.2 percentage points on the year.
- the figures continue to be affected by welfare reform, including reforms to eligibility for lone parent benefits and re-assessment of existing claims for incapacity benefits. Both are likely to have added to the JSA caseload between May and June.
- in the year to November 2011, the number claiming incapacity benefits fell 10,800 to 2.58 million. The most recent provisional figure for May 2012 suggests the caseload has since fallen further to 2.52 million.
- in the year to November 2011, the number of lone parents on income support fell 66,700 to 581,600. The provisional figure for May 2012 is 575,000, suggesting the level is close to flat.
The number of redundancies fell and unfilled vacancies rose on the quarter
- There were 147 thousand redundancies in March to May 2012, down 27 thousand on the previous quarter but up 4 thousand on the year.
- ONS’s vacancy survey estimates an average of 471 thousand unfilled vacancies in the three months to June 2012, up 10 thousand on the quarter and 12 thousand on the year.
Total weekly pay in May 2012 was up by 1.5% over the year
- growth in regular weekly pay, excluding bonuses, was up 1.8% on the year.
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