UK job vacancies at record high as wages pick up
LONDON: Job vacancies have hit a record high as the UK’s labour market continues to “rebound robustly”, according to the latest official figures. The number of vacancies hit 953,000 in the three months to July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in the three months to June, while the annual growth in average pay was 7.4 percent. However, the ONS urged caution in reading too much into the rise in wages.
ONS deputy statistician, Jonathan At how told the BBC that while the rise in average pay “hasn’t been that high for a long time”, it also compares to last year when millions of people were on furlough and were not being paid their full wage.
“This time last year we had millions of people on furlough many getting 80% of their wages, other people having their hours cut, and that pushed wages down,” he said.
“So when we look at wages this year, when people have come back from furlough, it’s really been boosted by the fact that last year wages were quite low. Some of this group was just wages returning to the level before the pandemic.”
The ONS said payrolls rose by 182,000 between June and July, although at 28.9 million it is still 201,000 lower than before the pandemic struck. The number of people on payroll has now grown over half a million in the past three months, regaining about four-fifths of the fall seen at the start of the pandemic. Ollie Brightman, co-owner of a digital marketing agency in Bristol, says he has been struggling to recruit staff due to the competitive jobs market.
The 35-year-old told Radio 5 Live’s Your Call programme hiring freelancers was a good short-term solution for his agency, but “very expensive” in the long term. “We are absolutely desperate for all matter of digital marketing candidates at the moment. Pretty much anyone within those industries we are crying out for,” he said. However, John Parmenter, a carpenter from Hertfordshire, has been benefitting from the demand for skilled workers.
He has seen his hourly rate shoot up from £19 on average, to between £25 and £30 in the past few months. The 53-year-old said he was getting called “every few hours” by agencies. “It’s quite a nice feeling,” he said. “It’s the first time it’s ever happened in 30 years. They ask what you want, not what they’re paying. It’s a nice change. “During the lockdown, with the pandemic, unfortunately I wasn’t entitled to any payments so I’m just trying to reap some money back to try and pay off some existing bills that have escalated. I just don’t know what’s round the corner, so we’re just going to surf it and make the most of it.” (BBC Business)