Government & Policy
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the latest release of its employment report for the 3 months to April 2024, which shows that the unemployment rate in the country climbed to 4.4%, the highest rate reported in over 2 years.
Despite the increase, wages continued to climb (this may be due to the increase in the National Living Wage in April). What may be worrying for many people is that the number of vacancies is falling (by 9,000 to 904,000) as unemployment continues to rise. “In February to April 2024, the number of those unemployed for up to 6 months increased, and remains above levels of a year ago (February to April 2023). Those unemployed for over 6 and up to 12 months, and those unemployed for over 12 months, also increased in the latest quarter following falls in the second half of 2023, and are above estimates of a year ago,” the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The ONS has, however, cautioned about the unemployment figures because its survey sample is small.
To read the full report, click here
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