Wednesday 19 Feb 2014 @ 13:15
Department for Work and Pensions
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Record-breaking numbers of women in work as employment continues to rise

Record-breaking numbers of women are now in work – the employment rate of 67.2% is the highest since records began and over 14 million women are in employment, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics this morning (19 February 2014).

The growth in overall employment also continued with the number of people in work rising 193,000 on the quarter. Creating jobs and getting people into employment are central to the government’s long-term economic plan to build a stronger, more competitive economy, so hardworking people can secure their future. 1.3 million more people are now in jobs compared with 2010 – over a million of these jobs are full-time.

This month’s figures show that UK nationals made up nearly nine-tenths of the rise in employment in the last year.

Employment Minister Esther McVey said:

With employment continuing to increase, it’s clear that the government’s long-term plan to build a stronger, more secure economy is helping businesses create jobs and get people into work.

Record numbers of women are in work and youth unemployment continues to fall, which means more people have the security of a regular wage and can plan for their future.

The number of unemployed people fell 125,000 in the last 3 months, with the number of people who were long-term unemployed also falling by 45,000. The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance has fallen for the 15th consecutive month.

The number of young people who are in work increased by 49,000 in the last 3 months, with the number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance falling for the last 20 months.

The latest figures show the number of job vacancies increased in the last 3 months by 28,000 and are up by over 100,000 since 2010, to 580,000.

Background to labour market statistics: February 2014

This month’s Labour Force Survey covers October to December 2013. The claimant count is for January 2014 and the vacancy count for November 2013 to January 2014.

The number of people in work rose this quarter

  • 30.15 million people were in work in October to December 2013
  • the employment level rose 193,000 on the previous quarter and 396,000 on the year
  • the employment rate is 72.1%, up 0.3 points on the quarter and up 0.6 points on the year

ILO unemployment fell this quarter

  • 2.34 million people were ILO unemployed in the October to December 2013 quarter, down 125,000 on the previous quarter and 161,000 on the year
  • the ILO unemployment rate is 7.2%, down 0.4 points on the quarter and down 0.6 points on the year.

The level of economic inactivity is up on the quarter but down on the year

  • the economic inactivity level is 8.93 million in the October to December 2013 quarter, up 8,000 on the previous quarter but down 23,000 on the year
  • the economic inactivity rate is 22.1%, unchanged on the quarter and down 0.1 points on the year
  • excluding students, inactivity as a share of the 16-64 population is 16.5%, up 0.1 points on the quarter but down 0.2 points on the year

The number of people claiming one of the main out-of-work benefits is falling

  • claimant unemployment was 1.22 million in January 2014, down 27,600 on the month and down 327,600 on the year
  • the claimant count rate is 3.6%, down 0.1 points on the month and down 1 point on the year
  • in the year to August 2013, the number claiming incapacity benefits fell 76,200 to 2.44 million. The most recent provisional figure for December 2013 suggests the caseload has risen slightly since then
  • in the year to August 2013, the number of lone parents on income support fell 47,700 to 498,000
  • the provisional figure for December 2013 is 485,000.

The number of redundancies fell and unfilled vacancies rose on the quarter

  • there were 111,000 redundancies in October to December 2013, down 13,000 on the previous quarter and 34,000 on the year
  • ONS’s vacancy survey estimates an average of 580,000 unfilled vacancies in the 3 months to January 2014, up 28,000 on the previous quarter and 89,000 on the year

Total weekly pay in December 2013 was up by 1.1% over the year

  • growth in regular weekly pay, excluding bonuses, was up by 1% on the year

More information

Read the Universal Credit experimental statistics also out today (19 February 2014).

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