Posted on May 19th, 2021
The latest statistics from the Office for National Statistics say that the job vacancies in the UK have touched an all-time high since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unemployment percentage has dropped a bit, but, youngsters (16 to 24 years old) still are going through the burden of job losses.
The latest figures said that in Feb-April 2021, there were 657,000 vacancies which is 48,400 more than the last year. This positive trend is the outcome of openings in the outdoor hospitality and retail industries at the start of April. In between, the unemployment percentage slipped to 4.8% in the 3 months to March, down from 4.9% in the last rolling quarter.
Nevertheless, the percentage of jobless people remained more than the pre-pandemic levels. Although the number of employees on payrolls has gone up by 97,000 between March and April, it is still 772,000 less than before the epidemic.
As said above, young people are experiencing the greatest shock of employment. However, the positive thing is, this situation is the onset of self-made choice as young ones are preferring to stay in institutions instead of searching for work. Although the condition is a conscious outcome, economic experts fear this could lead to more unemployment rate soon when these people leave the learning centres voluntarily or in huge numbers.
Madison Kerr, an economist at Pro Bono Economics in London, said, “Talk of recovery is likely to feel premature for younger and older groups and those with fewer qualifications, who are still waiting for opportunities to reach them.”
Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, London, said the announcement regarding skills investment in previous week’s Queen’s Speech is welcome, however, more should be done to help meet up the skills of job seekers with the needs of the employers.
Tags: UK job news, UK job updates, latest news on UK job market, ONS latest report