Employment rate stays at record high of 74.2%

17 June 2016

Unemployment has dropped to its lowest rate since 2005 while the employment rate has stayed at a record high of 74.2%.

Official figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the unemployment rate now stands at 5.0% and there are nearly 31.6 million people in work.

There are nearly half-a-million more people in work compared to a year ago, with wages before bonuses up by 2.3% in the same period. The growth in employment is being driven by full-time work.

The labour market statistics also show:

• the female employment rate is still at 69.2%, the highest since records began in 1971
• there are around 750,000 unfilled vacancies in the economy at any one time
• at 5.6%, the proportion of 16 to 24 year olds who have left full-time education and are unemployed has never been lower.

Read the full Labour Market Statistics – June 2016 from the ONS.