November Labour Market Statistics: Comment from the Institute for Employment Studies
14 Nov 2023
Commenting on today's figures, Tony Wilson, Director at the Institute for Employment Studies said:
“The labour market is continuing to cool, with vacancies now down by a quarter of a million over the last year and by sixty thousand in the most recent quarter. The latest payroll data also suggest that employment for young people is falling, by around 30,000 in the last quarter, and in industries more sensitive to a slowdown like hospitality and construction. So far, this slowdown isn’t feeding through into significantly higher unemployment, with many people still outside the labour force entirely and continued shortages in some parts of the economy helping to keep pay growth at close to 8%. Looking ahead to the Autumn Statement next week then, with economic growth flat and employment still well below pre-pandemic levels, there is a clear need to do more to try to boost employment and support growth. This should include extending access to employment programmes like Restart for the two million people who are outside the labour force and want to work, as well as reforming the Apprenticeships levy to allow more flexible, shorter-term help to support reskilling.”
Read our detailed briefing note here