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IES analysis of this month's Labour Market Statistics, published December 17th 2024.

IES analysis of this month's Labour Market Statistics

The figures out this month, as with those of the past couple of months, show improvement on the very weak data that we saw earlier in the year, with employment rising to 75% from 74.8%, unemployment down to 4.0% from 4.1% and economic inactivity at 21.8% from 21.9% previously.

This week, we launched the final report of our Commission on the Future of Employment Support in partnership with abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.

With the final report just launched, IES details The Commission on the Future of Employment Support to develop evidence-led proposals for reform of our system of employment support and services, so that it can better meet the needs of individuals, employers and our economy.

Today’s labour market data (covering the period April to June, so immediately pre-election) sees a slight improvement on the very poor figures over recent months.

The first jobs data of this Parliament lays bare the scale of the challenges facing the new Labour government.

We are deeply sorry to announce that our dear friend and colleague, Stephen Bevan, passed away last night. Steve has been such an important part of so many of our lives over the years – through his work, as a mentor and as a friend – and we will miss him hugely.

The last Parliament has been truly dismal for employment, and today’s figures are the worst that we have seen since the pandemic.

Today’s jobs data is very disappointing again. The UK remains pretty much the only country in the developed world where employment is stuck below pre-pandemic rates.