UK Unemployment Rate Remains At 43-Year Low In June-August Period

The number of unemployed people in the UK has remained at the lowest in 43 years by falling 47,000 to 1.36 million during the three months to August 2018.

The unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.0 per cent and by 0.3 percentage points on the year, said UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday (16).

The number of unemployed people aged 16 years and older in the UK fell by 47,000 to 1.36 million in the three months to August 2018. The number of unemployed women decreased by 24,000 and that of men decreased by 23,000. Male and female unemployment rates have both been declining over time, ONS added.

Since the economic downturn, the rate of male unemployment has decreased more quickly than the rate of female unemployment. In the period June to August 2018, the overall rate of unemployment was 4.0 per cent, the rate of male unemployment was 4.1 per cent and the rate of female unemployment was 4.0 per cent.

The duration of the unemployed state for people also exhibits a decreasing trend. In the three months to August 2018, short-term unemployment fell by 23,000 to 800,000, medium-term unemployment declined by 15,000 to 208,000 and long-term unemployment moved down by 10,000 to 355,000.

Meanwhile, the latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows that the number of people in employment in the UK decreased by 5,000 to 32.39 million in the three months to August 2018.

The employment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 75.5 per cent in the three months to August 2018. It increased by 0.4 percentage points on the year.

“The level of unemployment declined between the referendum period and the three months to August 2018. Unemployment duration also changed during that period. Focusing on the unemployment of people aged 16 years and older, the data showed that the unemployment rate fell from 4.9 per cent to 4 per cent,” ONS said.