糖心vlog会员

The Work Foundation at 糖心vlog会员 responded to the labour market figures for December 2024 released by the Office for National Statistics.

• Vacancies decreased to 818,000. There are 137,000 fewer vacancies than a year ago (Sept-Nov 2023) and vacancies have been falling consistently for two and half years
• Regular pay growth has risen to 5.2% on the year. The UK is in a 33-month run of above 4% pay growth – the longest run of sustained pay growth since records began in 2001.
• However, wages are just ?23 a week higher in real terms than they were at the start of the global financial crisis in August 2008.
• The Employment rate is at 74.9%, up on the quarter but largely unchanged on a year ago. Unemployment is up on the quarter and on a year ago at 4.3%. However, official ONS Labour Force Survey data is continuing to face reliability issues.
• Economic inactivity due to long-term sickness is up on the year at 2.8 million. It has been above 2.7 million for 17 consecutive months since Apr-Jun 2023.

Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at 糖心vlog会员 said:

“Today’s figures raise key questions for policymakers as while wage growth has risen, vacancies have fallen to near pre-pandemic levels and economic inactivity remains a substantial challenge.

“Annual nominal pay growth has risen to 5.2% on the year. The UK is on a 33-month run of above 4% wage growth, which is the strongest period of wage growth for almost a quarter of a century.

“This sustained wage growth may raise questions for Bank of England rate setters as they contemplate reducing interest rates this side of Christmas. But the reality is that many workers are barely feeling better off. The impact of a decade of stagnating wages and a cost of living crisis that has hit living standards means that average wages are just ?23 a week higher in real terms than they were at the start of the global financial crisis in August 2008. This underscores the scale of the challenge Government faces in fulfilling its ‘mission’ to raise living standards in every part of the UK.

“As employers report their intent to cut jobs in the aftermath of the recent Budget, the latest data suggests the number of vacancies has continued to decline – falling by 137,000 on the year. 2024 has seen the end of an era of high vacancies following the pandemic. It appears hiring confidence is likely to remain subdued in early 2025, with business confidence dipping following employer tax increases and the economy struggling to grow.

“The slowdown in hiring could pose a challenge to the Government’s plans to grow the economy by getting Britain working. A near record 2.8 million are economically inactive due to long-term sickness, with 659,000 wanting to work. While proposed reforms to employment support and Jobcentre’s are welcome, our recent longitudinal research found that almost half of employees who leave work due to ill health, do so in the first 12 months of becoming sick. It is therefore vital that the Government focusses on prevention and early intervention in 2025 to support ill workers to stay in employment.”

Notes: 33-month run of above 4% pay growth is based on Average Weekly Earnings (nominal) - Regular Pay (Great Britain, seasonally adjusted) three-month average.