According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK's economic inactivity rate for the period was 22.2%, higher than estimated a year ago and up slightly in the latest quarter.
The Office for National Statistics said the UK employment rate between December 2023 and February 2024 was 74.5% – lower than the estimate for the same period last year and the fall in the quarter. The unemployment rate for the period was 4.2% – higher than estimated a year ago and up during the quarter. The economic inactivity rate during this period was 22.2%.
Part-time workers were the main contributor to the quarterly and annual decline in the employment rate, while the number of full-time workers increased quarterly and annually.
The number of employed people with a second job increased in the latest quarter to 3.6% of all employed people.
The unemployment rate generally decreased from late 2013 until the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. It then increased through the end of 2020, but has returned to pre-pandemic levels . An ONS statement said the unemployment rate had increased in the latest quarter.
From December 2023 to February 2024, the number of people unemployed for up to six months fell, but remained above the level a year ago. Meanwhile, the number of people unemployed for more than 6 months to 12 months increased in the latest quarter, after decreasing in recent months, and the number of people unemployed for more than 12 months continued to increase in the latest quarter.
The highest estimated employment rate in the country was in the South East (78.3%) and the lowest was in Wales (69.1%), in the three months to February this year.
London saw the sharpest year-on-year increase in employment, up 1.2 percentage points, with Wales seeing the biggest fall at 2.8 percentage points.
The highest estimated unemployment rate was in the East Midlands (5.9%) and the lowest was in Northern Ireland (2.2%), in the above three months.
The East Midlands region had the highest increase in unemployment rate over the same period last year, increasing by 2.2 percentage points, of which the Northeast region had the largest decrease of 0.9 percentage points.
The estimated economic inactivity rate was highest in Wales (28.1%) and lowest in the South East (18.4%) over the three-month period.
Wales saw the largest year-on-year increase in the economic inactivity rate, up 2.7 percentage points, with the West Midlands seeing the biggest fall at 1.1 percentage points.
Fiber2 Fashion News Desk (DS)
