With the unemployment rate standing at 5.1%, today’s ONS unemployment figures show that the UK is a very different country to the one it was less than 12-months ago.
The latest ONS figures show the UK unemployment rate in the three months from October to December 2020 was an estimated 5.1%, 1.3% higher than a year earlier and 0.4% than the previous quarter. The redundancy rate during the same period was estimated at 12.3 people per thousand employees, slightly improved on the record high reported in January 2021.
Professional recruitment and staffing firms increase UK productivity by £7.7 billion each year by using their expertise to get people into the right jobs, new research from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) reveals.
Danni Rush, Chief Customer Officer at Virgin Incentives and Virgin Experience Days
In response to the latest ONS labour Market statistics. Jon Boys, labour market economist for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, comments:
The government has announced that it is dropping the 30-job minimum threshold for employers wishing to take part in the Kickstart scheme. Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said:
In the final quarter of 2020, employers were feeling more confident about hiring and an increasing proportion expected to bring in new permanent staff in the coming months – despite the health restrictions brought on by rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and worsening economic circumstances.
Giving firms stronger role in shaping local FE provision is a key improvement to skills system but many employers will need support if they are to step-up
New report highlights employer concerns and need for urgent action to prevent unnecessary job losses
The CIPD has responded to concerns that worker protections could be ripped up as part of a post-Brexit overhaul of UK labour employment law, warning that the current framework already strikes the right balance for workers and employers.
By Kathryn Barnes, EMEA Counsel, Globalization Partners
Dean Sadler, CEO and Founder at Tribepad
Matthew Gregson, Head of Corporate, Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing
Following the Chancellor’s commitment to provide new grants to businesses, the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, is urging the Government to extend the furlough scheme to the end of June.
Responding to the announcement of tougher restrictions Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said: