For the third month in a row official labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics point to a fall in the UK employment rate, while the number of people of working age without a job has reached yet another record high. These results highlight the urgency for tougher policy action to free up the supply side of the UK jobs market - a fact that must not be overlooked despite a further welcome reduction in the unemployment count, according to John Philpott, CIPD Chief Economist.
Philpott says, A combination of more economically inactive people and rising numbers of job vacancies signals a mismatch between labour demand and supply that might trigger higher wage inflation. Increased hiring of immigrant workers is helping ease the resulting pressure - which in part explains why average earnings are not rising faster at present - but this safety valve could soon blow.
The new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Alan Johnson, must immediately reinvigorate the government’s welfare to work agenda with a more vigorous package of measures combining tougher benefit sanctions with active support to overcome the various barriers preventing economically inactive people from job filling vacancies.
Falling employment rate highlights urgent need for policy action on jobs
Official labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics point to a fall in the UK employment rate
