Latest jobless figures in UK 'a serious concern'

Union leaders in the UK today voiced “serious” concerns over the labour market as new figures showed more people have stopped looking for work, while the number of manufacturing jobs dipped below three million for the first time since modern records began.

Union leaders in the UK today voiced “serious” concerns over the labor market as new figures showed more people have stopped looking for work, while the number of manufacturing jobs dipped below three million for the first time since modern records began.

The British government hailed a slight fall in unemployment and in numbers claiming jobseeker’s allowance as well as a near-record number of adults in work.

However, the TUC said it was “tragic” that employment in manufacturing was at its lowest level since 1978, given the vibrant state of the industry in other European countries.

General secretary Brendan Barber said: “The UK’s continued low rate of unemployment is good news but the underlying figures should be a serious cause for concern.

“British manufacturing could be a leading global force, generating jobs and wealth in some of the most deprived parts of the UK with a bit more attention from the government.”

There was a fall of 3,000 in the unemployment total to 1.69 million in the three months to January, a jobless rate of 5.5%, while the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance was 3,800 lower in February at 922,200, the fifth consecutive monthly fall.

The number of people in work continues at near-record levels, up by 18,000 in the latest quarter to just over 29 million.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, showed that the number of people employed in the public sector fell by 22,000 in the latest three months to 5.83 million, while private sector employment increased by 39,000 to 23.19 million.

Employment in central government departments fell by 12,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006, by 9,000 in local government, by 11,000 in the NHS and 4,000 in the civil service.

But the number of people classed as economically inactive, including long-term sick, students and those who have given up looking for a job, increased by 42,000 in the latest quarter to 7.88 million – over a fifth of the working age population.

The figure is the highest for almost a year.

Employment Minister Jim Murphy said: “This is a strong set of figures. The numbers on each of the main benefits – jobseeker’s allowance, incapacity benefits and lone parent benefits – are down over the year, the number of people in jobs continues to rise and the number of vacancies remains very high.

“Today’s figures show that we are delivering on our commitment to provide employment opportunities for all – more people are coming off benefits and there are more job vacancies available.”

The Age and Employment Network said people over state pension age accounted for almost 40% of the increase in employment over the past year.

“It’s a sure sign of the times that the number of state pensioners in paid jobs is continuing to rise,” said chief executive Patrick Grattan.

Ian Brinkley of the Work Foundation described the labour market as “weak”, adding: “The economy is generating very few new jobs and as a result, the share of the working age population in work fell, and more of those in work were in insecure forms of employment.”

Mr Brinkley said the increase in employment over the past three months had come from temporary employees and self-employment.

Average earnings increased by 4.2% in the year to January, up by 0.2% on the previous month and the highest figure since last July.

The number of working days lost through industrial disputes was 120,000 in January, the highest figure since last March, taking the total in the year to January to almost 800,000, three times as many as the previous 12 months.

The UK continues to have a lower unemployment rate than most other European countries, although it is lower in Holland, Ireland, Denmark, Austria, Japan and the United States.

Commenting on the fall in public sector employment, Dr Neil Bentley, CBI director of public services, said: “These are small reductions in public sector headcount after a long period of expansion.

“The focus must be on the efficiency and productivity of staff and providing quality services to the public, not how many staff there are. Despite the hard work of many, patchy management means much of the public sector is poor at directing resources and delivering services.

“Proper incentives and better people management are essential if taxpayers are going to get bang for their buck.”