UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment has fallen by 24,000 to nudge the jobless rate lower, but the number of part-time workers has surged to a record high. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed unemployment fell to 2.49 million in the three months to July, to drive the unemployment rate to 7.7% from 7.8%. Wales was on 118,000 unemployed, which is minus 7,000, on the last figures and stands at 8% of the workforce. The rate has taken on new significance because it is tied to the Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s new forward guidance policy. The Bank has said it will not consider raising rates from their record low until the unemployment rate falls to 7% - which it forecasts will take around three years - barring a spike in inflation. The so-called claimant count - the number claiming jobseeker’s allowance - fell in August by 32,600 from July to 1.4 million.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:37:15 +0000
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