In just three months (November to the end of January), unemployment levels rose by 27,000 to 2.53 million, the highest it has been for 17 years.
However, at the same time the ONS revealed that in February the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance fell by 10,200 to 1.45 million.
It was good news for workers wage packets, with the ONS report revealing that the average earnings in January were 2.3 percent higher than the previous year. This was thought to be mainly driven by bonus payments in the finance and business services sector.
However, the Bank of England warned that, although the figures for January were higher than expected, when it comes to wage growth it is well below the level of growth.
The ONS report revealed evidence of the increase of the working population with statistics showing that a record number of 50 – 64 year olds were in work, with their numbers rising by 25,000 to 7.3 million.
Ahead of next week’s Budget, the Government will need to act on these statistics. Once again, regulations that are an obstacle for small businesses need to be cut in order for them to create more job opportunities and for them to be encouraged to invest.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
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