Both employment and unemployment have risen in the UK as more people returned to the jobs market.
In December 2022 to February 2023 the UK employment rate was estimated at 75.8%, up 0.2 percentage points compared with September to November 2022. This increase in employment was driven by part-time employees and self-employed workers, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 3.8% due to a rise in the number of people unemployed for up to six months.
There was a decrease of 0.4 percentage points in the economic inactivity rate to 21.1%, but the number of people who were inactive because of long-term sickness rose to a record high.
The figures also show that job vacancies fell for the ninth time in a row, with a drop of 47,000 to 1.105 million in the three months to March, with companies citing economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment.
“Job vacancies have fallen again but remain at very high levels,” said ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan.
“Meanwhile pay continues to grow more slowly than prices, so earnings are still falling in real terms, although the gap between public and private sector earnings growth continues to narrow.”
Average total pay (including bonuses) grew at an annual rate of 5.9% in the three months to February while regular pay (excluding bonuses) was up 6.6%. Average regular pay growth was 6.9% in the private sector and 5.3% in the public sector.
UK inflation currently stands at 10.4%.
