Mel Stride MP, who chairs the influential House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, has welcomed the latest employment figures released today (15/07/21) for June 2021.
The number of payroll employees showed another monthly increase, up by 356,000 in June to 28.9 million with unemployment for the March-May quarter falling from 5.0% to 4.8%. Growth in average total pay for the quarter (including bonuses) was 7.3% and regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 6.6% among employees.
Mr Stride said:
“Many businesses are still facing real challenges but these are some very encouraging figures which show the UK economy beginning to bounce back. This is backed up by the feedback I get from local businesses I visit, with the general feeling that things are heading in the right direction again.”
There were 862,000 job vacancies in April to June 2021 – the first time vacancies have been above pre-pandemic levels – an indicator of renewed business confidence and a likely sign that unemployment will continue to drop further.