The largest fall in UK employment since the 2008 financial crisis.

32.9 million people aged 16 and over are currently in employment, 113,000 more than a year earlier – but 220,000 fewer than the previous quarter.

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The latest employment figures release from the UK’s Office for National Statistics have revealed the largest quarterly fall since the financial crisis – a total drop of 220,000 people from January-March to April-June. That equates to a decrease of 0.7%, a figure only surpassed by the second quarter of 2009.

Despite this, unemployment is not rising.

Looking more closely at the decreases in employment by age, those aged 16-24 decreased by 100,000 to 3.72 million, while those aged 65+ decreased by a record 161,000 to 1.26 million. This was partially offset by those aged 25-64, who increased by 41,000 to 27.94 million.

The ONS explains: “To be unemployed someone has to say that they do not have a job and that they are currently actively seeking and available for work”, adding that due to the impact of the coronavirus: “a group of employees have reported that they are temporarily away from work and not getting paid. Similarly, there are a group of self-employed people who are temporarily away from work but not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.”

[This piece was first published in Statista & written by Martin Armstrong, Data Journalist at Statista.]

(Cover: Wikipedia/J J Ellison.)

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