REC Responds to Labour Market Statistics: Good News but Challenges Remain
Press releases
Commenting on today’s publication of labour market statistics by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which reports data for May – July 2016, Recruitment & Employment Confederation Chief Executive Kevin Green says:
“The labour market continues to perform well. Whilst today’s ONS data only covers one month since the referendum result, it does support the idea that employers avoided any knee-jerk reactions immediately after the vote.
“It is encouraging to see that of the 559,000 jobs created in the last year, 434,000 are full-time positions. We are at near-full employment at 74.5 per cent. This is good news, however problems that hindered the jobs market before the referendum remain, with businesses in a range of sectors experiencing major skills shortages.
“Pay continues to grow at 2.3 per cent, but with inflation expected to rise over the coming months this weakening growth rate is an area of concern.
“The economy has so far recovered well from the post-referendum shock, largely because of a business-as-usual attitude from consumers and employers, but confidence remains fragile. We hope to see fiscal stimulus from the Chancellor at the Autumn Statement to help bolster the jobs market, and we call for sensible decisions around any new immigration policy so that businesses can continue to access the people they need.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
1. For more information, contact the REC Press Office on 0207 009 2157/2192 or pressoffice@rec.uk.com. An ISDN line is available for interviews on 0207 021 0584.
2. Full ONS data is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/uklabourmarket/september2016
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