Posted by Hari on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 with No comments | Labels: Austerity, inequality, jobs, pay, unions
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK employment rate hit 73.1% in March to May 2014, the highest rate on record. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.5% over the same period, from 6.9% before. But total pay growth, which includes bonuses, slowed sharply to 0.3% - a record low. Regular pay, excluding bonuses, grew by 0.7%. These readings are far below price inflation, which jumped in June to 1.9%, meaning the real-terms decline in wages has accelerated. The economy appears to be strengthening. It is expected to grow by around 3% in 2014, the fastest rate of any developed Western economy. And all major sectors – manufacturing, construction and services – are booming. But some are arguing that the labour market, which has seemed to be robust in the face of the post-financial crisis recession, has made a permanent shift in its make-up. Though the figures show people are employed, many count themselves as underemployed because they cannot find enough work. There has also been a sharp increase in self-employment, which can bring financial precariousness and people tend to earn less and pay less tax. And there has been a proliferation of so-called zero hours contracts, where no work is guaranteed from one week to the next.
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