‘The unemployment rate also disappointed the City after it failed to fall from 5.1% to 5% as expected following a 60,000 drop to 1.69 million unemployed people between October and December compared with the previous three months.
Striking a more optimistic note, the Office for National Statistics figures published on Wednesday showed there was an increase in the number of people in work to a record high of 31.42 million and that wage growth excluding bonuses rose slightly to 2% from 1.9%
John Philpott, director of The Jobs Economist consultancy, said the rise in employment was split roughly equally between employees and self-employed people, with 88,000 of the rise based on previously economically inactive people entering the labour market.
“Chancellor George Osborne will be hoping that the introduction of the national living wage in April will see pay increase and help inflation rise further.”
Osborne said: “In the face of significant turbulence in the global economy, it is encouraging that more people than ever have the security of a job and a rising pay packet.
“With a record number of people in work and unemployment and youth unemployment reaching 10-year lows, this is further evidence of the need to stick to the government’s long-term plan to deliver economic security against the cocktail of risks affecting the world.”’ Read more
