UK employment rises to new record

UK employment figures have risen to their highest peak since records began in 1971.

With just over 30 million people now in work, this total is up by 459,000 since the same time last year according to the Office for National Statistics.

Published by The Telegraph, the figures show that more people are working in the UK than ever before and the good news comes as Chancellor George Osborne balances his books in the budget.

With the private sector creating 473,000 extra jobs in the past year, this brings the total number of people employed in this field to 24.7m.  However, the public sector fared much worse as employment fell to a five year low.

As the new report emerged, we learned that there has also been a fall in the number of people taking part-time work because there was no full-time opportunities available, these figures were down by 32,000 in the last quarter to 1.4 million.

Howard Archer, a Chief UK and European Economist commented on the figures, saying, "A positive interpretation of the latest data is that it could be an early sign that productivity is finally starting to pick up modestly with more companies making increasing use of their existing workers rather than taking on new workers.  This would be highly welcome news for the economy's longer-term growth prospects".

The cautionary note to this optimistic jobs news comes from partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG Management Consulting, Bernard Brown who adds "Just because more jobs have been created, it doesn't necessarily follow that people – or business owners – have more disposable income".

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National Solicitors

Employment Solicitors

Tunbridge Wells, Kent.