UK unemployment figures – at 11 year low BUT (and there’s a big one…)
Recently released figures from the ONS (Office of National Statistics) show that The UK unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9%, the lowest since July 2005 and down 54,000 from the previous quarter.
Official figures show
- There were 31.70 million people in work, 176,000 more than for the 3 months to February 2016 and 624,000 more than for a year earlier.
- There were 23.19 million people working full-time, 401,000 more than for a year earlier.
- There were 8.52 million people working part-time, 223,000 more than for a year earlier.
Sounds like good news but here’s the BUT
The figures cover the period before the UK vote to leave the European Union and a number of analysts warn the outcome of the vote means the positive trend is unlikely to continue for much longer.
The Bank of England stated in its separate monthly summary of business conditions, which was also released on Wednesday that “A majority of firms spoken with did not expect a near-term impact from the result on their investment or hiring plans. But around a third of contacts thought there would be some negative impact on those plans over the next twelve months.”
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
The graph below shows UK Unemployment rates (aged 16 and over), seasonally adjusted
January to March 1971 to March to May 2016
Source: Labour Force Survey: Office for National Statistics
See the full report
