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Unemployment in Britain at lowest level for 10 years

Xinhua, November 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Britain's unemployment level has fallen to its lowest level for 10 years, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Wednesday.

ONS figures also show the number of people in Britain with jobs has remained at a record high of 31.8 million, with 49,000 moving into work in the three months following the June 23 referendum vote on European Union membership.

In the three months to September, there were 1.6 million people unemployed, a fall of 37,000 compared to the previous three month period. The latest statistics cover the first full post-Brexit three month period, showing an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent.

ONS statistician David Freeman said: "Unemployment is at its lowest for more than 10 years, and the employment rate remains at a record high. Nonetheless, there are signs that the labour market might be cooling, with employment growth slowing."

"The headline Labour Force Survey and earnings data are for July to September, the first time we have three full months' data after the result of the EU referendum became known."

"The Labour Force Survey also includes information on the nationality and country of birth of workers. That limited evidence suggests the referendum outcome and subsequent devaluation of sterling has had little impact so far on the number of EU workers in the UK labour force."

Freeman said authoritative data on the flow of foreign workers into Britain since the Brexit vote will not be available until February 2017 when ONS publishes the quarterly migration figures for the three months from July 2016.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the trade union body, the TUC, said although Wednesday's ONS figures show salary levels rising by 2.4 percent, higher inflation brings real wage increases down to 1.7 percent,

"Real pay growth is the slowest it's been since early 2015. Wages are not growing fast enough to withstand the rise in inflation expected next year. Without swift action from the government, working people could soon by paying the price for Brexit with another fall in living standards," said O'Grady. Endit