The data, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also showed that the number of people in work fell by 0.3 per cent to 75.7 per cent, against the previous quarter.
However, the ONS used a different set of data for the latest figures and said they should be viewed as ‘experimental estimates’. Therefore direct quarterly comparisons may not be accurate.
The latest data also showed that the number of job vacancies down by 43,000. This is the 15th consecutive quarterly decrease and suggests that the trend for a cooling jobs market, as employers grow cautious over the economic conditions, is continuing despite inflation easing.
In August, 119,000 working days were lost because of labour disputes and the majority of these were in the health and social work sector.
The ONS said it had used data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest figures, instead of using its usual Labour Force Survey (LFS). It said the change was to “provide a more holistic view of the state of the labour market while the LFS estimates are uncertain”.
Yet the move has been criticised by some groups as these figures are one of the measures looked at by the Bank of England (BOE) when it decides interest rates.
‘Equally worrying is the state of the data’
Hannah Slaughter, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Today’s data showed that the labour market continued to cool over the summer, with employment falling and unemployment rising.
“But equally worrying is the state of the data, which makes it harder to assess the true health of the labour market. We still don’t know whether employment has failed to grow compared to before the pandemic, or risen by one million.
“This is particularly worrying for both the Chancellor as he prepares his Autumn Statement, and the Bank of England as they make crucial decisions in the coming months over whether to raise, hold or cut interest rates.”
