UK unemployment up as economy heads into recession

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Unemployment in the UK rose to 3.7% in the three months to October, up from 3.6% in the previous period, in line with market forecasts.

Data by the Office for National Statistics showed that vacancies fell by 65,000 in the three months to November to 1.9 million – a fifth consecutive decline, marking uncertainty across industries, as economic pressures hold back on recruitment.

Yet the figures indicated that more people are returning to work, with the inactivity rate down to 21.5% as those in their fifties chose to go back to work amid soaring inflation.

The office also said both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose 6.1%.

The employment rate also climbed from 75.4% to 75.6%, with payrolled employees up by 107,000 to a record of 29.9 million.

Britain is facing a fresh wave of industrial action, including by nurses, postal workers, and university lecturers, sparked by a bitter cost-of-living crisis triggered by soaring inflation and a deteriorating economy.

The UK’s annual inflation rate jumped to 11.1% in October from 10.1% in September, its highest since October 1981, leading to a fall in real wages.

Recently Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the economy "will get worse before it gets better," after data showed GDP narrowed 0.3% between August and October.

He said: "These figures confirm that this is a very challenging economic situation here and across the world."