Office for National Statistics says the number of
public sector jobs as a percentage of total UK employment has continued to
decline. (Graphic courtesy of ONS)
However, the Office for National Statistics [ONS] said the number of public sector jobs has continued to fall, as the level of average wage increases has dropped to just 0.7% – around one third of the current inflation level.
Average weekly pay in the private sector was £473, lower than the public sector figure of £484, the ONS says.
However, excluding publicly-owned financial corporations (RBS and the Lloyds Banking Group), average weekly pay in the public sector was £473, the same as for the private sector.
Overall, the number of unemployed people fell by 18,000 to reach 2.49m.
ONS says youth unemployment is little changed, at 958,000 unemployed 16 to 24 year olds (31% of whom were in full-time education).
Analysts say there has been a small increase in full-time employment and decrease in part-time employment. However, they say the number of full-time jobs is still 100,00 below the pre-recession level.
According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills there are currently enough unemployed young people to fill every Premier League football stadium, with almost 192,830 left outside.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “While it’s good news that unemployment is still falling and more jobs are being created, there is still plenty to be worried about.
“Young people are being excluded from the recovery as youth joblessness remains close to a million.
“The government must admit its Youth Contract is failing and introduce a job guarantee to stop thousands more joining the dole queue.
“People’s pay packets continue to fall in real terms. Earnings growth has never been lower and the longest wage squeeze in over a century is becoming even tighter.
“There is also a record number of under-employed workers who aren’t able to find full-time work.
“We need more high quality jobs and proper pay rises if this recovery is to begin to feel real for hard-working people.”
For June to August 2013, there were 1.45m employees and self-employed people who were working part-time because they could not find a full-time job, the highest figure since records began in 1992.
For June to August 2013, almost a third of male employees and self-employed people who were working part-time were doing so because they could not find a full-time job.
The corresponding figure for women was 13.5%, according to the ONS.
The official employment statistics come as UNISON has launched a campaign for a minimum increase of £1 per hour for local government workers.
The union says 500,000 local government workers in England are paid below the current Living Wage of £7.45 an hour.
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