Mortgage News
ONS: Unemployment drops to 2.46m
UK unemployment dropped by 36,000 in the three months to March 2011 to 2.46m, reported the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS said that the rate of employment currently stands at 70.7%, up 0.2% on the quarter.
Unemployment among 16 to 24 year-olds stood at 935,000, meaning 1 in 5 young people are out of work.
The ONS said that the number of people in employment aged 16 and over increased by 118,000 on the quarter and by 416,000 on the year to reach 29.24m.
However, the number of employed people is still 332,000 lower than the pre-recession peak of 29.57m recorded for the three months to May 2008.
The quarterly increase in employment was mainly driven by full-time employment which increased by 94,000 on the quarter to reach 21.30m.
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The number of men in full-time employment increased by 40,000 to reach 13.63m and the number of women in full-time employment increased by 54,000 to reach 7.67m.
The whole economy earnings annual growth rate for total pay, including bonuses, was 2.3% for the three months to March 2011, up from 2.1% for the three months to February.
The annual growth rate for total pay in the finance and business services sector increased from 4.6% to 6.2%.
Per Larsen, director of group buying website for small businesses Huddlebuy.co.uk, said the that the ONS figures could be the calm before the storm.
“Although the focus seems to be on youth unemployment, the real worry is the public sector time bomb. The government has talked up the private sector coming to the rescue and taking up the slack from the public sector, but the reality is that private businesses have a less than glowing opinion of public sector workers.”
Brian Johnson, an insolvency partner at HW Fisher & Company chartered accountants, said the unemployment figures are a step in the right direction, but that it’s still too early to talk of a sustainable recovery in the jobs market.
“Public sector job cuts are still in their infancy while the private sector remains weak, with many companies only hanging on by a thread.”
Johnson added that in order to reduce unemployment on a more sustainable basis, the banks need to lend at the necessary level to help companies develop and grow.