Jobs still to be had in county, despite drop in national vacancies
THERE are still jobs available in Leicestershire, despite a national fall in vacancies, with more on the way.
It comes as new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggest the number of people in work across the UK rose by 31,000 to 32.78 million in the three months to July.
However, the ONS said, nationally, job vacancies were tumbling, falling 23,000 to 812,000 during the period, stoking fears of an economic slowdown. Vacancies were at the lowest level since November 2017, driven by declining job openings at small firms, the ONS said.
DWP figures for Leicestershire suggest job centres in Leicester city have 955 jobs on their books, while those in the rest of Leicestershire have 1,914.
Roger Matthews, a team leader for the Department of Work and Pensions in Leicestershire, said despite the national warning they were gearing up for the busy Christmas recruitment period, while longer term employment schemes were expected to add to the jobs market.
He said: “Plans from IM Properties for a new global aftermarket parts distribution centre for Jaguar Land Rover have been recommended for approval by North West Leicestershire District Council.
“The 2.94 million sq ft campus would supply about 80 markets worldwide and will provide a significant number of jobs.
“Lidl has opened its new Hinckley store after moving across Leicester to Coventry Road. The new site has created 20 jobs, with existing staff moving across from the Hawley Road site and the budget store is still recruiting.”
But the growth in employment fell below analyst expectations, which had forecast a 55,000 rise.
The rate of unemployment is at its lowest in 45 years, driven by a record low in the percentage of women who are unemployed. The number of people out of work dropped 11,000 to 1.29 million for the quarter, as the rate of unemployment stayed flat at 3.8 per cent, lower than predicted by analysts.
Employment also increased as the number of people aged between 16 and 64 considered economically active continued to rise, increasing by 6,000 to 8.59 million.
The high level of employment was also linked to the record-high percentage of women aged between 16 and 64 in work, which remained at 72.1 per cent.
Average earnings, which include bonuses, had the fastest rate of growth since May 2008 as they increased by 4 per cent compared with 3.8 in the previous month.
The ONS said in real terms – after adjusting for inflation – total pay is estimated to have increased by 2.1 per cent compared with a year earlier. David Freeman, head of labour market statistics for the ONS, said: “The employment rate has remained fairly constant at a joint record high for some months now, while the unemployment rate was last lower at the end of 1974.
“Vacancies continue to fall back from recent record highs, with much of this decline coming from small businesses.
“Including bonuses, wages are now growing at 4 per cent a year in cash terms for the first time since 2008. Once adjusted for inflation, they have now gone above 2 per cent for the first time in nearly four years.”