Three out of four people are
in work, says latest report

22 January 2019

The number of people in work from September to November 2018 has increased to 32.53 million.

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that three out of four people (75.8%) who are eligible to work are employed, with 71% of women, nearly a record high.

The report measures people in paid work and doesn’t count their number of jobs, as it recognises that some people have more than one position.

It also does not include anyone in a government-supported training or employment scheme. These people are known as ‘economically inactive’. They also include those not seeking work or available to work. This total has decreased to 8.65 million, again the joint-lowest figure since comparable records began in 1971.

The number of unemployed people didn’t change significantly, remaining around 1.73m. This is an unemployment rate of 4%, the lowest since 1975.

Situations vacant
The number of job vacancies rose by 10,000 to a record high of 853,000.

Average weekly earnings
In nominal terms (that is, not adjusted for inflation), the figure increased by 3.3%.Compared with last year’s statistics, it increased in real terms by 1.1%.

ONS head of labour market David Freeman said:

‘The number of people working grew again, with the share of the population in work now the highest on record.

‘Meanwhile, the share of the workforce looking for work and unable to find it remains at its lowest for over 40 years, helped by a record number of job vacancies.

‘Wage growth continues to outpace inflation, which fell back slightly in the latest month.’

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