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The latest labour market statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that in the 3 months to October:
The employment rate was 70.6 per cent, down 0.1 on the previous quarter.
The unemployment rate stood at 7.9% up 0.1 on the previous quarter, which is the first quarterly increase in the unemployment rate since the three months to April in2010. The 35,000 increase now means that the total number of unemployed people has now reached 2.5 million.
The number of economically inactive people increased by 22,000 over the quarter, and now stands at 9.29 million.
The claimant count) fell by 1,200 to 1.46 millionThese statistics reveal that the labour market remains fragile. Whilst it has been resilient to date, there is no guarantee that such conditions will continue into the future. There are still some issues to be resolved with regards to the longer-term unemployed and the inactivity rate.
Looking forward, the public sector cuts will begin to feed through into the unemployment figures, challenging the flexibility of the labour market. The degree to which the figures are affected will depend upon the level of private sector activity and job creation during the challenging time ahead.
To read the official ONS release please click here
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