UK jobs market remains optimistic following Brexit

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The UK has faced a lot of uncertainty following its decision to leave the EU and many experts predicted a spectacular fallout as a result.

While some sectors have unfortunately suffered because of Brexit, the UK’s job market has remained optimistic with employment rates now at a record high of 74.5%. This means that the total number of people with a job is now just below 32 million.

The latest figures also show that in the two months following the vote, unemployment rates held steady at an 11-year low of 4.9%.

More than half of the employment growth witnessed over the last three months has come from part-time jobs. Furthermore, the number of part-time workers who said they cannot find full-time work shrank from 13.8% to 13.5%.

Although there are 106,000 more people in work now compared to the three-month period before the referendum, data does show that wage growth remains weak at 2.3%. The Confederation of British Industry says that pay growth has remained lacklustre and was under pressure from an inflation rate that hit 1% in September and could rise above 2% next year.

Speaking about the overall feel of the market, economist, Alan Clarke commented:

“The overall message of this report is that the labour market is still showing no signs of post-Brexit downturn – life goes on. Next year could be challenging however; how challenging will depend on what happens to wages.”

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) who collected the data has also spoken out about the UK’s job market following Brexit:

“These figures show that employment continued to grow over the summer and vacancies remain at high levels, suggesting continuing confidence in the economy.”

It has also been noted that there are now more women looking for jobs than ever before. In the three months up until August 2016, 73.4% of women were either in work or seeking a job – the highest rate since records began in 1971.

If you would like help finding your next finance or accounting job, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help. Alternatively, you can view all of our latest jobs on our vacancies page or submit your CV and we’ll let you know if we have any suitable roles for you.