Employment in the UK: October 2019

Estimates of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity for the UK.

Nid hwn yw'r datganiad diweddaraf. Gweld y datganiad diweddaraf

This is an accredited National Statistic. Click for information about types of official statistics.

Cyswllt:
Email Bob Watson

Dyddiad y datganiad:
15 October 2019

Cyhoeddiad nesaf:
12 November 2019

1. Other pages in this release

Other commentary from the latest labour market data can be found on the following pages:

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2. Main points for June to August 2019

  • The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.9%; higher than a year earlier (75.6%) but 0.2 percentage points lower than last quarter.

  • The UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.9%; this is lower than a year earlier (4.0%) but 0.1 percentage points higher than last quarter.

  • The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 21.0%; this is lower than a year earlier (21.2%) but 0.1 percentage points higher on the quarter.

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The data in this bulletin come from the Labour Force Survey, a survey of households. It is not practical to survey every household each quarter, so these statistics are estimates based on a large sample.

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3. Analysis of employment in the UK

Employment

Employment measures the number of people aged 16 years and over in paid work. The employment rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are in paid work.

Estimated employment rates for men and women aged between 16 and 64 years have generally been increasing since early 2012 (as seen in Figure 1). For June to August 2019:

  • the estimated employment rate for people was 75.9%; this is 0.3 percentage points up on the year, but 0.2 percentage points lower on the quarter

  • the estimated employment rate for men was 80.2%; this is largely unchanged on the year and on the quarter

  • the estimated employment rate for women was 71.6%; this is 0.6 percentage points up on the year, but 0.3 percentage points down on the quarter

The increase in the employment rate for women in recent years is partly a result of changes to the State Pension age for women, resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65 years.

Looking at the estimates for employment rates by age group for June to August 2019 and comparing them with the estimates for June to August 2018, the only decrease was for those aged between 18 and 24 years (down 1.3 percentage points to 61.1%). Employment rates increased on the year for all other age groups shown in Figure 2 (the 16 to 17 years age group is excluded). However, the employment rate decreased on the quarter for almost all of them; the only exception being the 50 to 64 years age group, which increased 0.1 percentage points on the quarter.

Estimates for June to August 2019 show 32.69 million people aged 16 years and over in employment, 282,000 more than a year earlier. This annual increase was mainly driven by women (up 202,000 on the year), those aged 50 years and over (up 287,000 on the year) and full-time workers (up 263,000 on the year). There was, however, a 56,000 decrease in employment on the quarter, which was the first quarterly decrease since August to October 2017.

Looking at the estimates for June to August 2019 by type of employment:

  • there were 27.58 million paid employees (84.4% of all people in employment), 97,000 more than a year earlier

  • there were 4.93 million self-employed people (15.1% of all people in employment), 162,000 more than a year earlier

Since the latter half of 2012, the annual increases for employees have generally been greater than for the self-employed. However, the latest estimate shows the weakest annual increase for employees since May to July 2012 (see Figure 3), making it smaller than the annual increase for the self-employed.

These estimates for paid employees and self-employed people make up over 99% of all people in employment in the UK. The total employment figure also includes two other minor categories as explained in the Guide to labour market statistics.

Since estimates began in 1971, total hours worked by women have generally increased, reflecting increases in both the employment rate for women and the UK population. In contrast, total hours worked by men have been relatively stable. This is because falls in the employment rate for men have been roughly offset by population increases.

Between June to August 2018 and June to August 2019 total actual weekly hours worked in the UK increased by 0.8% (to reach 1.05 billion hours), whereas average actual weekly hours worked decreased by 0.1% (to 32.1 hours). Therefore, the annual increase in total hours is driven by the 0.9% increase in employment over the last year.

Unemployment

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks, and are available to start work within the next two weeks. The unemployment rate is not the proportion of the total population who are unemployed. It is the proportion of the economically active population (those in work plus those seeking and available to work) who are unemployed.

Estimated unemployment rates for both men and women aged 16 years and over have generally been falling since late 2013 but have levelled off in recent periods (as seen in Figure 4).

For June to August 2019:

  • the estimated UK unemployment rate for all people was 3.9%, lower than a year earlier (4.0%) but 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous quarter

  • the estimated UK unemployment rate for men was 4.0%, 0.1 percentage points lower than last year but 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous quarter

  • the estimated UK unemployment rate for women was 3.7%, down 0.3 percentage points on a year earlier but largely unchanged on the quarter

Between June to August 2014 and June to August 2019:

  • the estimated unemployment rate for all people fell from 6.0% to 3.9%

  • the estimated unemployment rate for men fell from 6.3% to 4.0%

  • the estimated unemployment rate for women fell from 5.7% to 3.7%

For June to August 2019, an estimated 1.31 million people were unemployed, 49,000 fewer than a year earlier and 658,000 fewer than five years earlier.

Looking in more detail at this fall of 658,000 over the last five years:

  • the largest fall was for long-term unemployment (those unemployed for over one year), which was down 380,000 to 333,000

  • for those unemployed for over 6 and up to 12 months the number fell by 141,000 to a record low of 173,000

  • the estimated number of people unemployed for up to six months fell by 137,000 to 808,000 over the last five years, although the number has increased slightly over the last year

Economic inactivity

Economic inactivity measures people without a job but who are not classed as unemployed because they have not been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and/or they are unable to start work within the next two weeks. Our headline measure of economic inactivity is for those aged between 16 and 64 years.

Since comparable records began in 1971, the economic inactivity rate for all people aged between 16 and 64 years has been generally falling (although it increased during recessions). This is because of a gradual fall in the economic inactivity rate for women.

For people aged between 16 and 64 years, for June to August 2019:

  • the estimated economic inactivity rate for all people was 21.0%, down 0.2 percentage points on the year but up 0.1 percentage points on the quarter

  • the estimated economic inactivity rate for men was 16.4%; largely unchanged on the previous year and on the previous quarter

  • the estimated economic inactivity rate for women was 25.6%, down 0.4 percentage points on the year but up 0.3 percentage points on the quarter

Estimates for June to August 2019 showed 8.68 million people aged between 16 and 64 years not in the labour force (economically inactive). This was 63,000 fewer than a year earlier and 362,000 fewer than five years earlier.

Looking in more detail at the estimated fall of 362,000 in economic inactivity over the last five years, the categories showing the largest decreases were people looking after the family or home (down 309,000 to a record low) and those retiring from the labour force (down 198,000).

The fall was driven by women, with a decrease of 366,000. This reflects changes to the State Pension age, resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65 years, as well as more women in younger age groups participating in the labour market.

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4. Employment data

The data in this bulletin follow internationally accepted definitions specified by the International Labour Organization. This ensures that the estimates for the UK are comparable with those for other countries.

Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity
Dataset A05 SA | Released 15 October 2019
Estimates of UK employment, unemployment and economic inactivity broken down into age bands.

Full-time, part-time and temporary workers
Dataset EMP01 SA | Released 15 October 2019
Estimates of UK employment including a breakdown by sex, type of employment, and full-time and part-time working.

Actual weekly hours worked
Dataset HOUR01 SA | Released 15 October 2019
Estimates for the hours that people in employment work in the UK.

Unemployment by age and duration
Dataset UNEM01 SA | Released 15 October 2019
Estimates of unemployment in the UK including a breakdown by sex, age group and the length of time people are unemployed.

Economic inactivity by reason
Dataset INAC01 SA | Released 15 October 2019
Estimates of those not in the UK labour force measured by the reasons given for inactivity.

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5. Glossary

Actual and usual hours worked

Statistics for usual hours worked measure how many hours people usually work per week. Compared with actual hours worked they are not affected by absences and so can provide a better measure of normal working patterns. For example, a person who usually works 37 hours a week but who was on holiday for a week would be recorded as working zero actual hours for that week, while usual hours would be recorded as 37 hours.

Economic inactivity

People not in the labour force (also known as economically inactive) are not in employment but do not meet the internationally accepted definition of unemployment because they have not been seeking work within the last four weeks and/or they are unable to start work in the next two weeks. The economic inactivity rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are not in the labour force.

Employment

Employment measures the number of people in paid work and differs from the number of jobs because some people have more than one job. The employment rate is the proportion of people aged between 16 and 64 years who are in paid work. A more detailed explanation is available in our Guide to labour market statistics.

Unemployment

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. The unemployment rate is not the proportion of the total population who are unemployed. It is the proportion of the economically active population (those in work plus those seeking and available to work) who are unemployed.

A more detailed glossary is available.

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6. Measuring the data

This bulletin relies on data collected from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the largest household survey in the UK.

The Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) report pulls together important qualitative information on the various dimensions of data quality and provides a summary of the methods used to compile the output.

The LFS performance and quality monitoring reports provide data on response rates and other quality-related issues for the LFS.

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7. Strengths and limitations

The figures in this bulletin come from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which gathers information from a sample of households across the UK rather than from the whole population. The sample is designed to be as accurate as possible given practical limitations such as time and cost constraints. Results from sample surveys are always estimates, not precise figures. This can have an impact on how changes in the estimates should be interpreted, especially for short-term comparisons.

As the number of people available in the sample gets smaller, the variability of the estimates that we can make from that sample size gets larger. Estimates for small groups (for example, unemployed people aged between 16 and 17 years), which are based on small subsets of the LFS sample, are less reliable and tend to be more volatile than for larger aggregated groups (for example, the total number of unemployed people).

In general, changes in the numbers (and especially the rates) reported in this bulletin between three-month periods are small and are not usually greater than the level that can be explained by sampling variability. Short-term movements in reported rates should be considered alongside longer-term patterns in the series and corresponding movements in other sources to give a fuller picture.

Further information is available in A guide to labour market statistics.

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8. You might also be interested in

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) has a planned reassessment of labour market employment estimates, which aims to publish a set of recommendations in early 2020. As part of this assessment, the OSR may contact you to:

  • gather feedback on your use of labour market estimates

  • listen to your suggestions on ways we can build on our current engagement opportunities

  • capture examples of where we have worked (or are working) together to improve communication and use of our statistics

The three sections of the recommendations report will cover trustworthiness, quality and value. The OSR will coordinate engagement with you but please feel free to contact David Freeman (david.freeman@ons.gov.uk) or Matt Hughes (matthew.hughes@ons.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss further.

Labour market economic commentary
Article | Released 15 October 2019
Additional economic analysis of the latest UK labour market headline statistics and long-term trends.

Regional labour market statistics in the UK
Bulletin | Released 15 October 2019
Regional, local authority and Parliamentary constituency breakdowns of changes in UK employment, unemployment, economic inactivity and other employment-related statistics.

UK and non-UK people in the labour market
Article | Released 13 August 2019
Estimates of labour market activity by nationality and country of birth.

Public sector employment
Bulletin | Released 10 September 2019
Quarterly estimates of the number of people employed in the public and private sectors in the UK. The public sector comprises central government, local government and public corporations.

Young people not in education, employment or training
Bulletin | Released 22 August 2019
Quarterly bulletin examining estimates of men and women aged between 16 and 24 years in the UK who are not studying or in employment.

Working and workless households in the UK
Bulletin | Released 28 August 2019
Commentary on quarterly estimates of the economic status of UK households and the people living in them.

Employees in the UK
Bulletin | Released 26 September 2019
The Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) is the official source of employee and employment estimates by detailed geography and industry.

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Manylion cyswllt ar gyfer y Bwletin ystadegol

Bob Watson
labour.market@ons.gov.uk
Ffôn: +44 (0)1633 455070