16 March 2005 - More people in work, fewer claiming benefits – Kennedy
Minister for Work, Jane Kennedy, today welcomed new statistics confirming the strength of the UK labour market.
She said: “More people are moving from welfare back into work, with employment up over 200 thousand in the last year and by over 2 million in the last eight years.
“The number of people claiming incapacity benefits is now falling, reversing the upward trend of the previous two decades. The last year has seen unemployment reach its lowest level for thirty years, and the number of lone parents on benefit has continued to fall”, Ms Kennedy continued.
There are 28.6 million people in work, up 127 thousand this quarter and 219 thousand on the year. In the last year, more people in work has meant lower ILO unemployment, down 31 thousand to 1.41 million. Excluding students, there are also 13 thousand fewer economically inactive jobless people than a year ago.
This quarter, rising employment has largely reflected people moving back into the labour market from inactivity. As a result ILO unemployment rose 22 thousand while inactivity fell by more than 60 thousand.
Today also sees the publication of separate figures showing the number of people claiming incapacity benefits down 22 thousand in the year to November 2004, to 2.64 million. There are 763 thousand lone parents claiming Income Support, down 36 thousand over the same period. The number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in February 2005 was 813,300, down 700 this month and 73.1 thousand on the same month last year.
Ms Kennedy said: “The Government’s aim is to extend employment opportunity to all. The evidence shows that a combination of economic stability and the help provided through Jobcentre Plus and the New Deal has played a key role in delivering the labour market success story we see today.
“But we have set our sights even higher, with a long-term aspiration to achieve an employment rate equivalent to 80 per cent of the working age population.”
The improvement in benefits is reflected in the wider labour market position of disadvantaged groups such as lone parents and people with disabilities. The proportion of people with disabilities who are in work has increased by around seven percentage points in the last eight years, to 50 per cent. The proportion of lone parents who are in work is nearly 56 per cent, up 10 percentage points to its highest ever level. This compares to a two percentage point rise in the overall working age employment rate, to 74.9 per cent, over the same period.
Notes for editors
Background to Labour Market Statistics: March 2005
Compared to this time last year there are more people in work, the employment rate has risen, and both the unemployment and inactivity rates have improved. Vacancies are at a historically high level and redundancies are the around the lowest on record.
This month’s Labour Force Survey covers November to January 2005. The claimant unemployment count date was 10th February and the vacancy count date was 4th February.
In November to January 2005, employment rose by 127 thousand on the previous quarter and 219 thousand on the year. ILO unemployment was up in the latest quarter but down on the year. Claimant unemployment was down in the latest month and on the year.The labour market is in a strong position
- There were 28.57 million people in work in November to January.
- The LFS employment rate is 74.9%, up over the quarter and the year.
- On both measures, recent unemployment rates are the best since 1975.
- Both the ONS and Jobcentre Plus series show vacancies at high levels.
- There were 139 thousand redundancies in November to January, compared to 141 thousand in the same period last year.
Over the last year employment is up and unemployment and inactivity have improved
- Employment is up by 219 thousand over the last year.
- The level of ILO unemployment in November to January was 1.410 million, up 22 thousand in the last three months but down 31 thousand on this time last year. The ILO unemployment rate is 4.7%, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter but down 0.1 percentage points on the same period a year ago.
- The latest claimant count figures show 813.3 thousand claimants in February 2005, a fall of 700 on the month and 73,100 on the year. The claimant unemployment rate, at 2.6%, unchanged from last month but down from 2.9% in February 2004.
- ILO unemployment rose this quarter because the increase in the labour force (+149,000) was even greater than the substantial rise in employment (+127,000). The 22,000 increase in ILO unemployment is the difference between these two figures.
- The large rise in the number of people in the labour force partly reflects higher economic activity and lower inactivity. The number of inactive people of working age fell 69 thousand this quarter and the inactivity rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 21.3%.
- Over the last year as a whole the inactivity rate has remained unchanged. However, this does not take into account a further rise in the number of students. Excluding students, the number of inactive jobless people has fallen by 13,000 over this period.
The number of vacancies remains high
- ONS’s vacancy survey estimates there were 645.2 thousand unfilled vacancies in the quarter to January 2005, up 33.7 thousand (5.5%) on the same period last year.
- Jobcentre Plus vacancies in February 2005 average 68,700 a week, compared to 74,500 a week in the same month last year. More than 10,000 new vacancies are placed at Jobcentre Plus every working day and at least as many again come up through other recruitment channels.
Earnings growth in the year to January was 4.4%, unchanged from December
- Excluding bonuses, average earnings growth was 4.4%, unchanged from November.
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