The latest labour market figures published earlier today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a particularly sharp rise in the official UK unemployment rate alongside further evidence that private sector employers are keeping a tight grip on pay.
John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) describes the private sector pay data as ëextraordinaryí and comments that the latest official figures confirm the marked deterioration in the UK jobs outlook since the turn of the year. This makes it ënow inevitable that around 1 in 10 people in the jobs market will be unemployed by spring 2010.í
Dr Philpott comments further as follows:
ìWe already knew things were getting bad in the jobs market – todayís figures give official confirmation of just how bad.
ìThe combined size of the fall in employment and the rise in unemployment make these the bleakest set of official jobs figures since the start of the recession. The jump in unemployment puts the UK on track for a jobless rate of around 10% by spring 2010.
ìWhatís even more remarkable is the extraordinary impact of the recession and rising unemployment on private sector earnings. Bonuses have virtually died a death in the private sector this year as employers cut costs and staff try to hold onto their jobs. Add the arrival of price deflation into the mix and the chances are that growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) will also show signs of a further marked slump in the coming months.
ìThe latest jobs figures continue the recent trend with men and full-time employees on permanent contracts bearing the brunt of the recession. Ironically, however, on the day on which the Chancellor is expected to announce Budget measures targeted at young jobless people, the situation facing over 50ís in the jobs market appears worse than at any point in the economic downturn so far.î
Private sector pay slumps as jobless rate jumps
.
