Latest UK labour market report shows more people out of work, or economically inactive, but wage growth remains higher than inflation UK real pay grows at fastest rate in two years as unemployment rises Today’s jobs data is “very disappointing again”, warns Tony Wilson, Director at the Institute for Employment Studies. Wilson points out that there are now 900,000 more people out of work than before the pandemic began, with virtually all of this due to higher economic inactivity. There appear to be three key reasons for this: fewer older people coming back to work, more young people in education or out of work, and more people off with long-term health conditions across all ages. However for all the talk about this being driven by a ‘sicknote culture’, the reality is that the UK has among the lowest rates of sickness absence in the world, while our analysis shows that the growth in ill health is being driven primarily by fewer people with health conditions coming back to work rather than more people leaving. So we need to do far more and better to make our employment services more accessible, inclusive and supportive, rather than just threatening to change the rules or cut people’s benefits.” “The Tories are presiding over a rapidly deteriorating jobs market. “Unemployment and economic inactivity are shooting up. Over a million people are trapped on zero-hours contracts. And real wages are still worth less than in 2008. Continue reading...

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