ONS Labour Market February 2025

Payrolled Employees

• Decreased by 14,000 (0.0%) between November and December 2024 but increased by 44,000 (0.1%) year-on-year.
• Payrolled employees fell by 3,000 (0.0%) over the quarter but rose by 106,000 (0.3%) over the year.
• The early estimate for January 2025 shows an increase of 21,000 (0.1%) on the month and 49,000 (0.2%) year-on-year, reaching 30.4 million.

Employment, Unemployment, and Inactivity Rates

• The employment rate for those aged 16-64 was 74.9% in October to December 2024, rising from the previous quarter and year.
• The unemployment rate for those aged 16+ was 4.4%, up both quarterly and annually.
• The economic inactivity rate for those aged 16-64 was 21.5%, down from the previous quarter and year. 

Claimant Count and Vacancies

• The UK Claimant Count for January 2025 increased to 1.75 million, rising on both the month and year.
• Job vacancies fell by 9,000 in the quarter to 819,000 in November 2024 to January 2025, marking the 31st consecutive quarterly decrease but remaining above pre-pandemic levels.

Earnings Growth

• Annual growth in average regular earnings (excluding bonuses) was 5.9% in October to December 2024.
• Annual growth in total earnings (including bonuses) was 6.0%.
• Real terms annual growth (adjusted for CPIH inflation) was 2.5% for both total pay and regular pay.

Labour Disputes

• An estimated 52,000 working days were lost due to labour disputes across the UK in December 2024.

Wage growth picks up in January

Source: ONS

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