The latest figures show that unemployment has risen in the UK and workers' pay is in a record slump, according to experts.
There were 73,000 more workers on UK payrolls in July compared to June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said - meaning there are now 29.7 million people in employment. However, the unemployment rate increased to 3.8 percent for the period, up from 3.7 percent.
The ONS also says that pay grew by 4.7 percent over the three months to June. However, it added that soaring inflation levels of 9.4 percent means that, in effect, pay has dropped by 4.1 percent.
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In response to the latest labour market figures, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said: “Today’s stats demonstrate that the jobs market is in a strong position, with unemployment lower than at almost any point in the past 40 years – good news in what I know are difficult times for people.
“This highlights the resilience of the UK economy and the fantastic businesses who are creating new jobs across the country.”
The ONS added that regular pay, excluding bonuses, grew by 4.7 percent over the three months to June - ahead of experts' predictions of a 4.5 percent increase.
However, as CPI inflation hit a new 40-year record of 9.4 percent in June, and is expected to peak at around 11 percent later this year, the ONS said this resulted in a 4.1 percent drop in regular pay for employees. That represents the biggest slump since records began in 2001.
Official figures also showed that the number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 73,000 between June and July to 29.7 million, but the unemployment rate increased to 3.8 percent for the quarter compared with 3.7 percent for the previous period.
“The number of people in work grew in the second quarter of 2022, whilst the headline rates of unemployment and of people neither working nor looking for a job were little changed," ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan, said. “Meanwhile, the total number of hours worked each week appears to have stabilised very slightly below pre-pandemic levels.
“Redundancies are still at very low levels. However, although the number of job vacancies remains historically very high, it fell for the first time since the summer of 2020.”
Vacancy numbers hit 1.274 million over the three months from May to July, slipping by 19,800 in the first signal the UK’s hot labour market could be cooling.
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