UK jobless at lowest for 42 years … and it’s half the EU rate

THE number of people looking for work in Britain has fallen yet again as businesses embark on a hiring spree, official figures showed yesterday.

The jobless total stood at 1.43million at the end of October or 4.3 per cent – less than half the unemployment rate in the eurozone.

The Continent has been blighted by a jobs crisis with unemployment rates among the highest in the developed world.

By contrast, the jobless total in the UK is at its lowest level since 1975. It fell by 26,000 in the three months to the end of October and by 182,000 in 12 months, according to a report from the Office for National Statistics.

The slide in the jobless rate from 4.9 per cent at the time of the referendum last year has defied siren warnings of economic disaster as a result of the Brexit vote.

And in a sign that companies are seeking to take on new recruits, the ONS said there are now a record 798,000 vacancies that need to be filled.

On Monday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that the average jobless rate in the eurozone was 8.8 per cent.

That is double the UK rate and substantially higher than the OECD average of 5.6 per cent. The OECD is made up of 35 countries including the US, much of Europe, Japan, Mexico and Australia.

In the eurozone, the jobless rate is highest in Greece, at 20.6 per cent, followed by Spain, at 16.7 per cent, and Italy, at 11.1 per cent.

In the UK, with unemployment at a 42- year- low and employers searching for staff, wage growth has picked up to 2.5 per cent, the strongest rate so far this year.

But pay growth is still lagging behind inflation, which hit a sixyear high of 3.1 per cent last month, squeezing household budgets for millions of families.

It is hoped, however, that inflation has now peaked and wages will continue to rise, meaning the worst of the squeeze has passed.

Ben Brettell, senior economist at savings and investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘The pay squeeze continues for now, but with wages growing a little more strongly and inflation set to fall back in the new year, this looks like it’ll come to an end in the next few months.’

Ian Stewart, chief economist at professional services firm Deloitte, said: ‘Unemployment has fallen far faster than expected this year. The UK has been hugely successful at get- ting people into work. It’s pretty remarkable that the UK today has a lower jobless rate than job-creating stars such as Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, and lower than in 24 of the 28 EU member states. Record job vacancies, low unemployment and slowing immigration should push wage growth up next year.’

Although unemployment was down, the number in work also fell – by 56,000 in the three months to the end of October to just over 32million – as the size of the workforce shrank.

Senior ONS statistician Matt Hughes said the figures showed ‘there was a rise in the number of people who were neither working nor looking for a job’.

This group includes the retired, students, the sick and stay at home parents.

Stephen Clarke, economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation think-tank, said: ‘Britain’s remarkable jobs boom looks like it may have finally reached the end of the road.’

But while the number in work fell over the three months to the end of October, employment was still up by 325,000 in a year and by three million since 2010.

‘It’s pretty remarkable’