“Although Brexit plans won’t be fully disclosed until Spring 2017, employment figures haven’t been negatively impacted as the percentage of people in work holds steady. However, the unemployment rate has also increased, suggesting that a tough road may potentially lie ahead once Brexit plans are set in stone.
“In the last week alone, Fujitsu, Travis Perkins and DB Cargo have all announced significant reductions to their UK workforces. The banking sector is also feeling the pinch, with Lloyds confirming 1,230 job cuts and Adzuna data showing 11% fewer finance roles being advertised in August than a year ago.
“In the meantime, following Theresa May’s comments accepting that the Brexit debate should remain full and transparent before triggering Article 50, employers and employees should remain confident and hopeful for a positive outcome as there are still jobs being created. It’s also important to look at the wider context that there has been an 118,000 drop in unemployment since this time last year, so it’s not all negative news.”
ONS UK Labour Market October 2016
- Between March to May 2016 and June to August 2016, the number of people in work and the number of unemployed people increased. The number of people not working and not seeking or available to work (economically inactive) fell.
- There were 31.81 million people in work, 106,000 more than for March to May 2016 and 560,000 more than for a year earlier.
- There were 23.23 million people working full-time, 362,000 more than for a year earlier. There were 8.58 million people working part-time, 198,000 more than for a year earlier.
- The employment rate (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work) was 74.5%, the joint highest since comparable records began in 1971.
- There were 1.66 million unemployed people (people not in work but seeking and available to work), 10,000 more than for March to May 2016 but 118,000 fewer than for a year earlier.
