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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including new UK unemployment figures
- UK jobless rate hits 4.5% in June-August
- Redundancies jump as employment total falls
The number of people made redundant from their job in the UK jumped at a record rate over the summer, driving the unemployment rate up.
The ONS says:
Redundancies increased by 113,000 on the year, and a record 114,000 on the quarter, to 227,000.
The annual increase was the largest since April to June 2009, with the number of redundancies reaching its highest level since May to July 2009.
Today’s labour force report is a grim read.
On employment, it shows that the number of people in work fell by over 150,000 in the last quarter, to below 32.6 million. This pulled the employment rate down from 75.9% to 75.6%.
Estimates for June to August 2020 show 32.59 million people aged 16 years and over in employment, 102,000 fewer than a year earlier. This annual decrease was driven by men in employment (down by 213,000 on the year to 17.04 million).
Employment decreased by 153,000 on the quarter; men in employment decreased by 115,000, while women in employment decreased by 38,000. This quarterly decrease was driven by people in employment aged 16 to 24 years, the self-employed and part-time workers, but was partly offset by increases in employment for people aged 25 to 64 years and full-time employees.
