ONS Labour Market September 2024

Payrolled Employees

• Decreased by 6,000 (0.0%) between June and July 2024 but rose by 203,000 (0.7%) YoY.
• Early estimates for August 2024 indicate a decline of 59,000 (0.2%) on the month but an increase of 122,000 (0.4%) YoY, reaching 30.3 million.

Employment and Unemployment Rates

• The UK employment rate (16-64 years) was estimated at 74.8% in May to July 2024, lower than a year ago but up from the previous quarter.
• The UK unemployment rate (16+ years) decreased to 4.1% in May to July 2024, below the levels from a year earlier and lower than the previous quarter.

Economic Inactivity and Claimant Count

• UK economic inactivity rate (16-64 years) was 21.9% from May to July 2024, higher than a year ago but down from the previous quarter.
• UK Claimant Count for August 2024 rose on both a monthly and yearly basis to 1.792 million, driven in part by administrative changes that are expected to affect 180,000 claimants. 

Vacancies

• Estimated vacancies fell by 42,000 in June to August 2024, marking the 26th consecutive quarter of decline, with total vacancies at 857,000, still above pre-pandemic levels.

Earnings Growth 

• Annual growth in regular earnings (excluding bonuses) in Great Britain was 5.1% in May to July 2024.
• Total earnings (including bonuses) grew 4.0% annually, with one-off public sector payments made in June and July 2023 creating tough annual comparisons.
• Real terms annual growth (adjusted for CPIH inflation) for regular pay increased by 2.2%, and total pay grew by 1.1%.

Labour Disputes

• 42,000 working days were lost due to labour disputes across the UK in July 2024, with most strikes occurring in the health and social work sectors.

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