Labour market update December 2018

CBI/Pertemps labour market update December 2018

The employment rate returns to a record high, with employment growth similar to the relatively strong rates seen over most of 2017.

The unemployment rate ticked up slightly and stands now at 4.1%, but a faster rise in vacancies means that there are the fewest job seekers per vacancy (1.6) since records began.

A record employment rate and an increasing difficulty filling jobs are further signs that the labour market is tightening.

The increasing tightness in the labour market seems to be fuelling pay: pay growth has edged higher once again and is the strongest it has been in a decade, although still weak relative to pre-crisis norms.

The route to sustainable pay growth remains better productivity growth, not the fits and starts we’ve seen. There has been some progress towards boosting the growth potential of the UK’s regions and nations since the launch of the industrial strategy a year ago, but the government needs to focus more on providing a compelling vision for the coming years and tangible outcomes in each region.

Across the UK, regions and nations have seen a mixed picture in employment as well as unemployment levels.

Workforce jobs saw few changes across the different industries with professional scientific & technical, real estate human health & social work activities registering the highest increases in the three months to September.