UK – The number of unemployed fell by 65,000 in the three months to May

For March to May 2012:

• The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 70.7 per cent, up 0.3 on the quarter. There were 29.35 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 181,000 on the quarter.
• The unemployment rate was 8.1 per cent of the economically active population, down 0.2 on the quarter. There were 2.58 million unemployed people, down 65,000 on the quarter.
• The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 22.9 per cent, down 0.2 on the quarter.
• There were 9.21 million economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64, down 61,000 on the quarter…

Employment

Employment measures the number of people in paid work and differs from the number of jobs
because some people have more than one job.

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 70.7 per cent in the three months to May 2012, up 0.3 percentage points on the three months to February but unchanged from a year earlier.

The number of people in employment was 29.35 million in the three months to May 2012, up 181,000 from the three months to February and up 75,000 on a year earlier. The number of people in full-time employment was 21.37 million in the three months to May 2012, up 133,000 from the three months to February. Of this total, 13.65 million were men and 7.72 million were women. The number of people in part-time employment was 7.99 million in the three months to May 2012, up 48,000 from the three months to February. Of this total, 2.12 million were men and 5.87 million were women.

The number of people employed in the public sector was 5.90 million in March 2012, down 39,000 from December 2011. The number of people employed in the private sector in March 2012 was 23.38 million, up 205,000 from December 2011. Further information on public sector employment is available in the Public Sector Employment Statistical Bulletin published on 20 June 2012…

Unemployment

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work and are available to start work if a job is offered.

The unemployment rate was 8.1 per cent in the three months to May 2012, down 0.2 percentage points from the three months to February but up 0.4 from a year earlier.

Source: Chart from bbc.co.uk

The number of unemployed people was 2.58 million in the three months to May 2012, down 65,000 from the three months to February but up 132,000 from a year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 1.48 million in the three months to May 2012, down 34,000 from the three months to February. The number of unemployed women was 1.10 million in the three months to May 2012, down 32,000 from the three months to February. The number of people unemployed for over one year was 885,000 in the three months to May 2012, up 3,000 from the three months to February. The number of people unemployed for over two years was 441,000 in the three months to May 2012, up 18,000 from the three months to February.

The unemployment rate for the European Union (EU) was 10.3 per cent of the  economically active population in May 2012. The EU country with the highest  Unemployment rate was Spain, at 24.6 per cent, and the EU country with the lowest unemployment rate was Austria, at 4.1 per cent. The unemployment rate for Japan was 4.4 per cent in May 2012. The unemployment rate for the United States was 8.2 per cent in June 2012…

via Labour Market Statistics, July 2012

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U.K. Jobless Rate Hits Nine-Month Low, Defying Recession 

U.K. unemployment fell to a nine- month low in the quarter through May as the London Olympics helped to create jobs, underlining the resilience of the labor market in the face of a recession and Europe’s debt crisis.

The jobless rate based on International Labor Organization methods fell to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent in the period through April, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. Jobless-benefit claims rose 6,100 in June. The increase, though larger than the 5,000 median forecast in a Bloomberg News Survey, was inflated by a benefit-rule change that took effect May 21.

The strength of the labor market is providing a boost for Prime Minister David Cameron as his government axes hundreds of thousands of state jobs to help cut the budget deficit and struggles to lift the economy out of its second recession since 2009.

“Unemployment has been limited in recent months by an increase in people working part-time, more people becoming self- employed and restrained earnings growth,” said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight in London. “The big question is can the labor market remain resilient given the economy’s ongoing weakness.”…

via U.K. Jobless Rate Hits Nine-Month Low, Defying Recession – Bloomberg.