Statistical bulletin: Labour Market Statistics, January 2013

For September to November 2012:

• The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 71.4%, up 0.1 on June to August 2012 and up 1.1 on a year earlier. There were 29.68 million people in employment aged 16 and over, up 90,000 on June to August 2012 and up 552,000 on a year earlier.
• The unemployment rate was 7.7% of the economically active population, down 0.1 on June to August 2012 and down 0.7 on a year earlier. There were 2.49 million unemployed people, down 37,000 on June to August 2012 and down 185,000 on a year earlier.
• The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 22.5%, unchanged on June to August 2012 but down 0.7 on a year earlier. There were 9.03 million economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64, down 13,000 on June to August 2012 and down 253,000 on a year earlier.
• Total pay (including bonuses) rose by 1.5% compared with September to November 2011. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 1.4% compared with September to November 2011.

In this Bulletin

This Statistical Bulletin contains the latest estimates for employment, unemployment, economic inactivity, claimant count, average earnings, labour productivity, vacancies and labour disputes. The estimates are used by a wide range of users, particularly across government and the media, to monitor developments in the labour market. All estimates discussed in this Statistical Bulletin are for the United Kingdom and are seasonally adjusted except where otherwise stated. Most of the figures discussed in this Statistical Bulletin are obtained from surveys of households or businesses and are therefore estimates, not precise figures. See the Sampling Variability and Seasonal Adjustment sections of this Bulletin for further details. This Statistical Bulletin is accompanied by data tables in spreadsheet format. The pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin includes 24 summary data tables. See the Data Tables section of this Statistical Bulletin for further details.

Regional estimates are available from the Regional Labour Market release.

New this month:

• Labour Force Survey and Average Weekly Earnings estimates for September to November 2012.

• Claimant count estimates for December 2012.

• Vacancies estimates for October to December 2012.

• Labour disputes estimates for November 2012.

Summary of labour market statistics published on 23 January 2013

A short video explaining this story is available.

Between June to August 2012 and September to November 2012:

• the number of people in full-time employment increased by 113,000,

• the number of people in part-time employment fell by 23,000,

• the number of unemployed people fell by 37,000, and

• the number of economically inactive people, aged from 16 to 64, fell by 13,000.

Between September to November 2007 and September to November 2012: 

• the number of people in full-time employment fell by 341,000,

• the number of people in part-time employment increased by 660,000,

• the number of unemployed people increased by 854,000, and

• the number of economically inactive people, aged from 16 to 64, fell by 75,000.

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for September to November 2012 was 71.4%. This was up 0.1 percentage point on June to August 2012 and up 1.1 on a year earlier, but it was lower than the pre-recession peak of 73.0% recorded for March to May 2008. The number of people in full-time employment aged 16 and over increased by 113,000 between June to August and September to November 2012 to reach 21.57 million but the number of people in part-time employment fell by 23,000 to reach 8.11 million. Compared with a year earlier:

• the number of men in full-time employment increased by 237,000,

• the number of men in part-time employment increased by 95,000,

• the number of women in full-time employment increased by 77,000,

• the number of women in part-time employment increased by 144,000, and

• the total number of people in employment increased by 552,000, the largest annual increase since 1989.

The unemployment rate for September to November 2012 was 7.7% of the economically active population, down 0.1 on June to August 2012 and down 0.7 on a year earlier. The number of unemployed men aged 16 and over fell by 37,000 between June to August and September to November 2012 to reach 1.41 million, but the number of unemployed women was unchanged at 1.08 million. The number of women unemployed for up to six months increased by 26,000 to reach 571,000. This may reflect changes to the benefits system resulting in more single mothers starting to look for work (see Claimant Count section of this Bulletin for further details).

The economic inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for September to November 2012 was 22.5%, unchanged on June to August 2012 but down 0.7 on a year earlier. The number of economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64 fell by 13,000 between June to August and September to November 2012 to reach 9.03 million.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 12,100 between November and December 2012 to reach 1.56 million.

Between July to September 2012 and October to December 2012, the number of vacancies increased by 10,000 to reach 494,000. This is the highest number of vacancies since October to December 2008, but it is 200,000 lower than the pre-recession peak of 694,000 recorded for January to March 2008.

Between September to November 2011 and September to November 2012, total pay for employees in Great Britain rose by 1.5%. This annual growth rate for earnings was lower than the increase of 2.7% in the Consumer Prices Index between November 2011 and November 2012. 

 

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. A comparison between estimates of employment and jobs is available in an article published on the website on 12 December 2012. A short video explaining the basic labour market concepts of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity is available on the ONS YouTube channel. Employment estimates are available at Tables 1 and 3 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables A02 (1.23 Mb Excel sheet) and EMP01 (1.25 Mb Excel sheet) .

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 71.4% for September to November 2012, up 0.1 percentage points from June to August 2012 and up 1.1 from a year earlier. Chart 3 shows the employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the last five years.

The employment rate for men aged from 16 to 64 was 76.6% for September to November 2012, up 0.1 percentage points from June to August 2012. The corresponding employment rate for women was 66.3%, up 0.2 from June to August 2012.

The number of people in employment was 29.68 million for September to November 2012, up 90,000 from June to August 2012 and up 552,000 on a year earlier. The number of people in full-time employment was 21.57 million for September to November 2012, up 113,000 from June to August 2012. The number of people in part-time employment was 8.11 million, down 23,000 from June to August 2012.

Between June to August 2012 and September to November 2012, as shown in Chart 4:

• the number of employees increased by 77,000 to reach 25.20 million,

• the number of self-employed people increased by 7,000 to reach 4.20 million,

• the number of unpaid family workers fell by 1,000 to reach 111,000, and

• the number of people on government supported training and employment programmes classified as being in employment (excluding those classified as employees and self-employed) increased by 7,000 to reach 165,000.

Public and private sector employment

Public sector employment measures the number of people in paid work in the public sector. The public sector comprises central government, local government and public corporations. Estimates of public sector employment are obtained from information provided by public sector organisations. Private sector employment is estimated as the difference between total employment, sourced from the Labour Force Survey, and public sector employment. Public and private sector employment estimates are available at Tables 4, 4(1) and 4(2) of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables EMP02 (74.5 Kb Excel sheet) , EMP03 (58 Kb Excel sheet) and EMP04 (39.5 Kb Excel sheet) .

The number of people employed in the public sector was 5.75 million in September 2012, down 24,000 from June 2012. The number of people employed in the private sector in September 2012 was 23.86 million, up 65,000 from June 2012.

Between September 2011 and September 2012, the number of people employed in the public sector fell by 324,000 and the number of people employed in the private sector increased by 823,000. These large annual movements reflect the reclassification of some educational bodies from the public sector to the private sector. See Background Notes to the September 2012 Statistical Bulletin for further details. As shown in Chart 5, excluding this reclassification, the number of people employed in the public sector fell by 128,000 between September 2011 and September 2012 and the number of people employed by the private sector increased by 627,000. Further information on public sector employment is available in the Public Sector Employment release published on 12 December 2012.

For September 2012 within the public sector, as shown in Chart 6:

• 1.55 million people were employed in the National Health Service, down 3,000 from June 2012,
  

• 1.08 million people were employed in public administration, down 11,000 from June 2012,
  

• 1.49 million people were employed in education, down 8,000 from June 2012, and
  

• 444,000 people were employed in HM Forces and the police, down 6,000 from June 2012.
   

 

 

Employment by country of birth and nationality, not seasonally adjusted (first published on 14 November 2012)

ONS publishes estimates of employment by both nationality and by country of birth. The number of non-UK born people in employment is greater than the number of non-UK nationals in employment, as the non-UK born series includes many UK nationals. The estimates relate to the number of people in employment rather than the number of jobs. These statistics have sometimes been incorrectly interpreted as indicating the proportion of new jobs that are taken by foreign migrants. Estimates of employment by country of birth and nationality are available at Tables 8 and 8(1) of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables EMP05 and EMP06 (169.5 Kb Excel sheet) .

The number of UK nationals in employment was 27.07 million for July to September 2012, up 455,000 from a year earlier. The number of non-UK nationals in employment was 2.62 million, up 75,000 from a year earlier.

The number of UK born people in employment was 25.42 million for July to September 2012, up 317,000 from a year earlier. The number of non-UK born people in employment was 4.27 million, up 208,000 from a year earlier.

Actual hours worked

Actual hours worked measures the number of hours worked in the economy. Hours worked estimates are available at Tables 7 and 7(1) of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables HOUR01 (457 Kb Excel sheet) and HOUR02 (1.54 Mb Excel sheet) .

Total hours worked per week were 944.3 million for September to November 2012, up 7.8 million from June to August 2012 and up 21.2 million on a year earlier. Chart 8 shows total hours worked for the last five years. Average weekly hours worked for September to November 2012 were 31.8, up 0.2 from June to August 2012 and up 0.1 from a year earlier. The estimates for total hours worked and average hours worked can be affected by the arrangement of public holidays. The quarterly increase in hours worked between June to August and September to November 2012 was affected by two more public holidays than usual in the June to August period (due to the Diamond Jubilee holidays which occurred in June).

Earnings

Earnings measures money paid to employees in return for work done, before tax and other deductions from pay. The estimates relate to Great Britain and include salaries but not unearned income, benefits in kind or arrears of pay. As well as pay settlements, the estimates reflect bonuses, changes in the number of paid hours worked and the impact of employees paid at different rates joining and leaving individual businesses. The estimates also reflect changes in the overall structure of the workforce; for example, fewer low paid jobs in the economy would have an upward effect on the earnings growth rate. Average Weekly Earnings estimates are available at Tables 15, 15(1) and 16 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data table EARN01 (463.5 Kb Excel sheet) .

In November 2012:

• Average total pay (including bonuses) for employees in Great Britain was £472 per week.

• Average regular pay (excluding bonuses) for employees in Great Britain was £444 per week.

Between September to November 2011 and September to November 2012:

• Total pay for employees in Great Britain rose by 1.5%. This annual growth rate of 1.5% was 0.3 percentage points lower than the growth rate of 1.8% in total pay between August to October 2011 and August to October 2012.

• Regular pay for employees in Great Britain rose by 1.4%. This annual growth rate of 1.4% was 0.3 percentage points lower than the growth rate of 1.7% in regular pay between August to October 2011 and August to October 2012.

Between November 2011 and November 2012, the Consumer Prices Index increased by 2.7%. Chart 9 shows annual growth rates for earnings and prices for the last five years.

Between September to November 2011 and September to November 2012:

• Total pay in the private sector rose by 1.4%, while regular pay rose by 1.5%.

• Total pay in the public sector rose by 2.0%, while regular pay rose by 1.9%.

• Total pay in the public sector excluding financial services rose by 2.2%, while regular pay rose by 2.0%.

The public and private sector growth rates from June 2012 have been affected by the reclassification of English Further Education Corporations and Sixth Form College Corporations. From June 2012 onwards these educational bodies are classified to the private sector, but for earlier time periods they are classified to the public sector. ONS estimates that, if the reclassification had not occurred, the public sector single month growth rates from June 2012 onwards would be between 0.6 and 0.8 percentage points lower and the corresponding private sector growth rates would be between 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points higher. Further information regarding this reclassification is available in an article published on the website on 31 May 2012.

Labour productivity (first published on 3 January 2013)

Labour productivity measures the amount of real (inflation adjusted) economic output that is produced by a unit of labour input (in terms of workers, jobs and hours worked). Whole economy output per worker increased by 0.6% between the second and third quarters of 2012. Whole economy unit labour costs fell by 0.1% between these quarters. Chart 10 shows percentage changes on quarter for output per worker and unit labour costs for the last five years. Labour productivity estimates are available at Table 17 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data table PROD01 (73.5 Kb Excel sheet) . Further information is available in the Labour Productivity Statistical Bulletin published on 3 January 2013.

Labour disputes (not seasonally adjusted)

These estimates measure disputes (ie, strikes) connected with terms and conditions of employment. Labour disputes estimates are available at Table 20 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data table LABD01 (113 Kb Excel sheet) .

In November 2012, there were 9,000 working days lost from 18 stoppages. In the twelve months to November 2012, there were 251,000 working days lost from 126 stoppages. Chart 11 shows cumulative twelve month totals for working days lost for the last five years.

Unemployment

Unemployment measures people without a job who have been actively seeking work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. A short video explaining the basic labour market concepts of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity is available on the ONS YouTube channel. Unemployment estimates are available at Table 9 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data table UNEM01 (2 Mb Excel sheet) . 

The unemployment rate was 7.7% for September to November 2012, down 0.1 percentage points from June to August 2012 and down 0.7 from a year earlier. Chart 12 shows the unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over for the last five years. Unemployment rates are calculated, in accordance with international guidelines, as the number of unemployed people divided by the economically active population (those in employment plus those who are unemployed).

The number of unemployed people was 2.49 million for September to November 2012, down 37,000 from June to August 2012 and down 185,000 from a year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 1.41 million for September to November 2012, down 37,000 from June to August 2012. The number of unemployed women was 1.08 million for September to November 2012, unchanged from June to August 2012.

For September to November 2012, as shown in Chart 13:

• 1.18 million people had been unemployed for up to six months, up 8,000 from June to August;

• 423,000 people had been unemployed for between six and twelve months, down 41,000 from June to August;

• 892,000 people had been unemployed for over one year, down 5,000 from June to August; and

• 434,000 people had been unemployed for over two years, down 10,000 from June to August.

International comparisons of unemployment rates are available at Table 19 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data table A10 (284.5 Kb Excel sheet) . The unemployment rate for the European Union (EU) was 10.7% of the economically active population for November 2012. The EU country with the highest unemployment rate was Spain, at 26.6%, and the EU country with the lowest unemployment rate was Austria, at 4.5%. The unemployment rate for Japan was 4.1% for November 2012. The unemployment rate for the United States was 7.8% for November and December 2012. Chart 14 shows the unemployment rates for the UK, the EU and the United States for the last five years.

Young people in the labour market

Estimates for young people in the labour market are available at Table 14 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data table A06 (2.13 Mb Excel sheet) .

For September to November 2012:

• There were 3.72 million 16 to 24 year olds in employment, up 12,000 from June to August.

• There were 2.58 million economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds (most of whom were in full-time education), down 27,000 from June to August.

• There were 957,000 unemployed 16 to 24 year olds, up 1,000 from June to August.

The unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 20.5% for September to November 2012, unchanged from June to August. In accordance with international guidelines, unemployment rates are calculated as the number of unemployed people divided by the economically active population (those in employment plus those who are unemployed). Increasing numbers of young people going into full-time education reduces the size of the economically active population and therefore increases the unemployment rate.

In accordance with international guidelines, people in full-time education (FTE) are included in the youth unemployment estimates if they have been looking for work within the last four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. Excluding people in FTE, there were 633,000 unemployed 16 to 24 year olds for September to November 2012, down 26,000 from June to August. The corresponding unemployment rate was 18.0% of the economically active population for 16 to 24 year olds not in FTE, down 0.9 percentage points from June to August.

Claimant count

The claimant count measures the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and differs from unemployment (which measures people who meet the internationally agreed definition of unemployment). Claimant count estimates are available at Tables 10, 10(1) and 11 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables CLA01 (307.5 Kb Excel sheet) , CLA02 (456 Kb Excel sheet) and CLA03 (68.5 Kb Excel sheet) .

The claimant count for December 2012 was 1.56 million, down 12,100 from November 2012 and down 40,500 from a year earlier. Chart 16 shows the claimant count for the last five years. The claimant count rate was 4.8%, unchanged from November 2012 but down 0.1 from a year earlier.

Chart 17 shows that for December 2012, excluding a small number of clerically processed claims for which an age breakdown is not available, there were:

• 420,100 people aged from 18 to 24 claiming JSA, down 8,900 from November 2012,

• 877,800 people aged from 25 to 49 claiming JSA, down 4,200 from November 2012, and

• 255,900 people aged 50 and over claiming JSA, up 800 from November 2012.

 
The claimant count can be affected by changes to the overall benefits system. For example, since 24 November 2008 several changes in the eligibility rules for Lone Parent Income Support (LPIS) have resulted in fewer lone parents (predominantly women) being able to claim that benefit resulting in more lone parents claiming JSA while they look for work. This has affected the claimant count since December 2008. The number of lone parents claiming JSA in Great Britain (not seasonally adjusted) increased from 9,300 in November 2008 to 150,900 in November 2012.

Another change to the benefits system which has affected the claimant count since April 2011 has been a re-assessment, by the Department for Work and Pensions, of claimants of Incapacity Benefit (IB) resulting in some people who have been declared ineligible for IB claiming JSA while they look for work. The effect of this exercise on monthly changes in the claimant count is likely to be small.

The claimant count for people claiming benefits for longer durations has also been affected by the introduction of the Work Programme in June 2011.  Previous employment initiatives saw a break in individual's JSA claims, leading to an individual having a succession of shorter duration claims. Under the Work Programme individuals are more likely to remain on JSA for a single unbroken duration.

Comparison between unemployment and the claimant count

Unemployment is measured according to international guidelines specified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Unemployed people in the UK are:

• without a job, have actively sought work in the last four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks, or;

• out of work, have found a job and are waiting to start it in the next two weeks.

People who meet these criteria are classified as unemployed irrespective of whether or not they claim Jobseeker’s Allowance or other benefits. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey and are published for three month average time periods.

The claimant count measures the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits; since October 1996 this has been the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA). Some JSA claimants will not be classified as unemployed. For example, people in employment working fewer than 16 hours a week can be eligible to claim JSA depending on their income.

Chart 18 and the associated spreadsheet compare quarterly movements in unemployment and the claimant count for the same three month average time periods. The unemployment estimates shown in this comparison exclude unemployed people in the 16 to 17 and 65 and over age groups as well as unemployed people aged from 18 to 24 in full-time education. This provides a more meaningful comparison with the claimant count than total unemployment because people in these population groups are not usually eligible to claim JSA.

When three month average estimates for the claimant count are compared with unemployment estimates for the same time periods and for the same population groups (people aged from 18 to 64 excluding 18 to 24 year olds in full-time education), unemployment fell by 58,000 and the claimant count fell by 12,000, between June to August 2012 and September to November 2012.

Economic inactivity

Economically inactive people are not in employment but do not meet the internationally accepted definition of unemployment because they have not been seeking work within the last four weeks and/or they are unable to start work within the next two weeks. A short video explaining the basic labour market concepts of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity is available on the ONS YouTube channel. Economic inactivity estimates are available at Tables 1 and 13 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables A02 (1.23 Mb Excel sheet) and INAC01 (2.4 Mb Excel sheet) .

The economic inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 22.5% for September to November 2012, unchanged from June to August 2012 but down 0.7 from a year earlier. Chart 19 shows the economic inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the last five years. There were 9.03 million economically inactive people aged from 16 to 64, down 13,000 from June to August 2012 and down 253,000 from a year earlier.

For September to November 2012, as shown in Chart 20:

• There were 2.22 million economically inactive students aged from 16 to 64, up 15,000 from June to August but down 56,000 from a year earlier.

• There were 2.04 million people aged from 16 to 64 who were economically inactive due to long-term sickness, down 9,000 from June to August and down 113,000 from a year earlier.

• There were 1.41 million economically inactive people who had retired before reaching the age of 65, down 20,000 from June to August and down 123,000 from a year earlier.

The fall in the number of economically inactive people who had retired before reaching the age of 65 reflects changes to the state pension age for women. The age at which women reach state pension age has been gradually increasing from 60 since April 2010, resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65.

Redundancies

The redundancies estimates measure the number of people who have been made redundant or have taken voluntary redundancy. Redundancies estimates are available at Tables 23 and 24 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables RED01 (188.5 Kb Excel sheet) and RED02 (2.41 Mb Excel sheet) .

For September to November 2012, 158,000 people had become redundant in the three months before the Labour Force Survey interviews, up 27,000 from June to August 2012 but down 6,000 from a year earlier. Chart 21 shows the number of people made redundant for the last five years. The redundancy rate was 6.3 per 1,000 employees, up 1.0 from June to August 2012 but down 0.3 from a year earlier.

Jobs (first published on 12 December 2012)

Workforce jobs measures the number of filled jobs in the economy. It differs from the number of people in employment as some people have more than one job. A comparison between estimates of employment and jobs is available in an article published on the website on 12 December 2012. Jobs estimates are available at Tables 5 and 6 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables JOBS01 (51 Kb Excel sheet) and JOBS02 (316.5 Kb Excel sheet) .

There were 31.95 million workforce jobs in September 2012, up 43,000 from June 2012 and up 532,000 on a year earlier. As shown in Chart 22, the sector showing the largest increase in jobs between September 2011 and September 2012 was administrative and support service activities which increased by 145,000 to reach 2.59 million. The sector showing the largest fall in jobs over this period was construction which fell by 65,000 to reach 1.99 million.

Vacancies

Vacancies are defined as positions for which employers are actively seeking to recruit outside their business or organisation. Vacancies estimates are available at Tables 21, 21(1) and 22 of the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin and at data tables VACS01 (46 Kb Excel sheet) , VACS02 (221.5 Kb Excel sheet) and VACS03 (70.5 Kb Excel sheet) .

There were 494,000 job vacancies for October to December 2012, up 10,000 from July to September 2012 and up 33,000 on a year earlier. Chart 23 shows the number of vacancies for the last five years. There were 1.9 vacancies per 100 employee jobs for October to December 2012, virtually unchanged from July to September 2012 but up 0.1 on a year earlier.

Data tables

The Index of Data Tables lists, and briefly describes, all of the regularly published labour market spreadsheets and includes hyperlinks from which the spreadsheets can be accessed.

The pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin includes 24 summary data tables. A list of these 24 tables, and the corresponding EXCEL spreadsheets, is available;

• in html format , and

• in pdf format from the “Index of Tables” page in the pdf version of this Statistical Bulletin.
  

Revisions

Estimates for the most recent time periods are subject to revision due to the receipt of late and corrected responses to business surveys and revisions to seasonal adjustment factors which are re-estimated every month. Estimates are subject to longer run revisions, on an annual basis, resulting from reviews of the seasonal adjustment process. Estimates derived from the Labour Force Survey (a survey of households) are usually only revised once a year. Further information is available in the Labour Market Statistics Revisions Policy (36.7 Kb Pdf) .

One indication of the reliability of the key indicators in this Statistical Bulletin can be obtained by monitoring the size of revisions.  Data tables EMP17 (633 Kb Excel sheet) , UNEM04 (1.57 Mb Excel sheet) , JOBS06 (391 Kb Excel sheet) and CLA04 (1.54 Mb Excel sheet) record the size and pattern of revisions over the last five years. These indicators only report summary measures for revisions. The revised data itself may be subject to sampling or other sources of error. The ONS standard presentation is to show five years worth of revisions (60 observations for a monthly series, 20 for a quarterly series).

Sampling variability

Data table A11 (63.5 Kb Excel sheet) shows sampling variabilities, calculated on not seasonally adjusted data, for the Labour Force Survey. These sampling variability ranges represent '95% confidence intervals'. It is expected that in 95% of samples the range would contain the true value. The sampling variability of the three month average vacancies level (95% confidence interval) is around +/- 1.5% of that level. The sampling variabilities of the whole economy single month Average Weekly Earnings growth rates (95% confidence intervals) are as follows:

+/- 0.6 percentage points excluding bonuses,
+/- 0.7 percentage points including bonuses (April to November), and 
+/- 0.9 percentage points including bonuses (December to March).

Seasonal adjustment

Like many economic indicators, the labour market is affected by factors that tend to occur at around the same time every year; for example school leavers entering the labour market in July and whether Easter falls in March or April. In order to compare movements other than annual changes in labour market statistics, such as since the previous quarter or since the previous month, the data are seasonally adjusted to remove the effects of seasonal factors and the arrangement of the calendar. All estimates discussed in this Statistical Bulletin are seasonally adjusted except where otherwise stated.

Relevant links

Regional and local area labour market statistics are available from the Regional Labour Market Statistical Bulletin and the associated data tables. More detailed regional and local area labour market statistics are available from the NOMIS® website. 

A number of short videos relating to labour market statistics are available from NOMIS® .

There is an article on the website to help users interpret labour market statistics and highlight some common misunderstandings. A more detailed Guide to Labour Market Statistics is also available. 

A Summary Quality Report for labour market statistics is available on the  Quality Reports for Business Statistics page of the website.

Labour Market Trends  was a monthly publication published by ONS which included articles about labour market statistics. Editions of Labour Market Trends are available on the website from July 2001 until December 2006 when the publication was discontinued. It was replaced by  Economic and Labour Market Review , which also included articles about labour market statistics. Editions of Economic and Labour Market Review are available on the website from the first edition, published in January 2007, up until the last edition published in May 2011.

Background notes

1. This month’s release
   There have been revisions, back to February 2011, to estimates of benefits proportions appearing at data table BEN01 (62 Kb Excel sheet) . These revisions have resulted from taking on board the latest population estimates.
   

2. Next month’s release
   There are no significant developments planned for next month. 
   

3. Special Events
   ONS has published commentary, analysis and policy on "Special Events" which may affect statistical outputs. For full details go to the  Special Events page on the ONS website .

4. Publication policy
   Publication dates up to the end of 2013 are available in the Background Notes to the June 2012 edition of this Statistical Bulletin. A list of the job titles of those given pre-publication access (35 Kb Pdf) to the contents of this Statistical Bulletin is available on the website.

5. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available by visiting www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html or from the Media Relations Office email: media.relations@ons.gsi.gov.uk

   The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

   Designation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics:

   • meet identified user needs;
   • are well explained and readily accessible;
   • are produced according to sound methods; and
   • are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.

   Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics it is a statutory requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed.

Statistical contacts

Name	Phone	Department	Email
Richard Clegg	+44 (0)1633 455400	Labour Market Statistics Briefing	labour.market@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Nick Palmer	+44 (0)1633 455839	Labour Force Survey	nicholas.palmer@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Bob Watson	+44 (0)1633 455070	Claimant count and Benefits	bob.watson@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Emily Carless	+44 (0)1633 455717	Workforce Jobs, Public Sector Employment and Vacancies	emily.carless@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Eric Crane	+44 (0)1633 455092	Average Weekly Earnings	eric.crane@ons.gsi.gov.uk
Mark Franklin	+44 (0)1633 455981	Labour Productivity	mark.franklin@ons.gsi.gov.uk
James Scruton	+44 (0)1633 456724	Labour Disputes	james.scruton@ons.gsi.gov.uk