In Woking, the number of people who are claiming key out-of-work benefits has fallen by 830 since 2010 – an overall reduction of 58% per cent, meaning fewer people now need this support because they have the security of a job.
The figures show that wages have risen at their fastest pace in over a decade as the unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1975, at 3.9 per cent.
With employment in the UK at a record high – including a record number of women in work and a record number of full-time jobs –more people than ever before have the economic independence that a job brings and can reach their full potential.
Behind every employment number is a person and a family whose self-esteem, mental wellbeing, economic circumstances and life chances are all vastly improved by being in the workplace.
Jonathan has welcomed these figures, saying:
“These figures show that a balanced approach to the economy is working.
“There are more people in work than ever before, and this Government will continue to help people build a better future for themselves and their families.’’
Amber Rudd, the Work and Pensions Secretary, responded to the latest employment figures, saying:
“Under this Government, more people than ever before have the security of a job, and with wages rising at their fastest rate for a decade, people’s pay can go further.
“It’s particularly pleasing to see there are now a record number of women in work and a record number of people with secure, full-time jobs.
“Unemployment has fallen in every region of the UK and over three quarters of new jobs have been created outside of London.’’
- Wages: Average weekly earnings for employees increased by 3.4 per cent compared with a year earlier.
- Employment: A record high of 32.72 million (up 457,000 over the last year and up by 3.67 million since 2010).
- Employment rate: 76.1 per cent (up 0.8 points over the past year and up 5.9 points since 2010).
- Unemployment: 1.34 million (down 76,000 over the past year and down by 1.17 million since 2010).
- Unemployment rate: 3.9 per cent (down 0.3 points over the past year and down 4.0 points since 2010) – the lowest rate since 1975 and halving since 2010 (8.0 per cent).
- Youth unemployment: There are over 446,000 fewer young people out of work since 2010 – almost halving since 2010.
- Disabled people: There are almost 1 million more disabled people (930,000) in work since 2013, as we are breaking down the barriers to employment facing disabled people.
- The number of women in work is at a record high of 15.41 million. There are over 1.76 million more women in work since 2010.
(ONS, Labour Market Overview, 16 April 2019, linka).
Other useful statistics:
- The latest data shows that wages increased by 3.4 per cent – while prices rose by 1.9 per cent in February – meaning wages have risen faster than prices for over a year and hard-working families are keeping more of what they earn. This is good news, but there is more to do.
- Full-time employment has reached a record high. Four-fifths of jobs created since 2010 are full-time, with 2.6 per cent of our workforce on zero-hour contracts – a reduction over the last year.
- The National Living Wage has increased from £7.83 to £8.21 an hour, representing an increase to a full-time minimum wage worker’s annual earnings of over £690.
- Freezing fuel duty for the ninth successive year this year – keeping the costs of driving down. By next April, this will have saved the average car driver a cumulative £1,000.
