Private sector boom for jobs
OVER half a million new jobs were created by the private sector in the 12 months to March, official data revealed yesterday.
Employment in the commercial sector rose to over 23m, growing by 520,000 since March 2010. The rise more than offset the 143,000 government sector positions shed over the same period.
Over 6.1m people are still employed by the government, the Office for National Statistics revealed. Just 24,000 public sector jobs were cut in the first quarter of the year, driven entirely by 27,000 jobs slashed from local government. Employment in the civil service actually increased, by 7,000, although this was attributed to the census.
In total, employment grew to 29.2m in the three months to April, up by 80,000 on the previous three months. Unemployment dropped to 2.4m, or 7.7 per cent.
The figures provided a boon for chancellor George Osborne, ahead of his Mansion House speech. The government’s own fiscal watchdog forecast unemployment of 8.2 per cent this year.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit jumped by almost 20,000 in May, with close to 1.5m in receipt of jobseekers’ allowance (JSA).
The hike was due to changes in government policy that saw people switching to JSA from incapacity benefits and income support, the Department for Work and Pensions said.
The number of unemployed young people, a key matter of concern for policy analysts, fell by 79,000 in the three months to April.
Total unemployment for people aged between 16 and 24 measured 895,000 in the three months to April, although the figure includes full time students who are also seeking work.
“The fall in the number of unemployed young people also means that the total is now lower than it was before the general election,” commented employment minister Chris Grayling.
Regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose by two per cent in February to April, compared to a year earlier.