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  • Labour market update – May 2023

Labour market update – May 2023

The number of people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness reaches a record high – read the key findings from the ONS covering employment, unemployment, economic inactivity, pay and hours worked data.

30 May 2023, 1 min read

The latest ONS data cover the period from January 2023 to March 2023 and show a labour market that continues to show signs of softening, with the employment rate increasing, unemployment remaining low, and economic inactivity and vacancies both falling. Real time Pay-As-You-Earn data for April 2023 showed that the number of payrolled employees decreased for the first time since February 2021.

However, of those who are economically inactive, 2.55 million have cited long-term sickness for their reason of inactivity, the highest figure on record. While the gap between the number of vacancies and the number of job seekers continues to slowly fall, the UK labour market remains very tight and a constraint on growth. The outlook for pay and living standards are largely unchanged. Regular pay remains elevated despite rising interest rates and continues to lag behind inflation, leaving many households feeling the squeeze.

Download the full Labour Market Update to find out:

  • The impact of COVID-19 on the overall health of the UK labour market
  • How wage growth and productivity are developing in different sectors as well as the UK overall
  • Where labour shortages are most acute in different sectors and regions