Surge in part-time workers as job vacancies rise

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The number of people in part-time work jumped in the three months to October after falling sharply in the Pandemic.

Unemployment among 16 to 24 year olds fell, another group that was hit hard by the Pandemic.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% thanks to it.

Between September and November, there were 1.22 million job vacancies.

That was more than a half million above pre-pandemic levels.

The Office for National Statistics said survey findings show that part-timers were particularly hard hit at the start of the Pandemic.

The number of job vacancies is not growing as fast as it did earlier this year.

The end of the furlough scheme did not deter UK employers from adding 257,000 staff to their payrolls in November.

The number of people on payrolls is above pre-pandemic levels across the country.

The latest increase in employment was driven by the increase in the number of part-time workers.

There was an increase in the employment rate and a decrease in the unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds.

The number of job vacancies has gone up in recent months due to the UK economy recovering. Pre-pandemic levels are also below.

Economic growth began to weaken in October before the Omicron variant emerged, according to figures released last week.

The jobs outlook remains strong thanks to the £400 billion economic support package, said Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

I am calling on everyone to help keep the economic recovery going and boost the British people's income.

The jobs numbers continued to reflect an encouraging recovery from the traumatic impact of the lockdowns, with payroll levels higher and redundancy levels lower than before the Pandemic.

There was a small impact from the end of the scheme. The unemployment rate in October was up to 4.3% from 4% the month before. That increase is 77,500.

It will take a few more months for the full impact of the removal of furlough to be seen. The first week of the month had a spike which settled down later in the month.

The economic recovery is being held back by vacancies. A number of older workers have retired during the Pandemic and there is a lack of students doing part-time work.

The impact of this ongoing jobs squeeze on annual wage settlements is unknown.

Rob Clarry, an economist at PwC UK, said the figures showed another positive month for the labour market recovery, but there were some signs that demand could be reaching its peak.

It is too early to judge the impact of the Omicron variant on the labour market. We think it will hit consumer demand for contact-intensive sectors, such as food and hospitality.

Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation, said: "This week employers across the economy are facing renewed uncertainty due to the emergence of the Omicron variant, with the reintroduction of working from home guidance and weakened demand in the run up to the usually busy Christmas period."

"Government should make it clear that it won't hesitate to support employers and workers in affected sectors in order to safeguard our economic recovery."

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is expected to make a decision on interest rates next week.

The government is under pressure to address inflation, but it wants to make sure that unemployment doesn't go up after the end of the furlough scheme.

The spread of Omicron has raised fears of a new economic downturn and prompted investors to bet against a rate hike as soon as Thursday.

The combination of a tight labour market and low unemployment could be enough to merit a rate rise, according to Yael Selfin.

With the emergence of the Omicron variant, we now expect the MPC to hold off on raising rates until next year.