UK employee numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels as the economy continues to recover. National Bureau of Statistics (ONS) Revealed on Tuesday.
Employment was hit hard during the pandemic, but is showing signs of recovery from the end of 2020.
The number of salary workers in the UK increased by 241,000 between July and August to 29.1 million, returning to the level of February 2020, just before the start of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic. ..
Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies has increased significantly. Vacancy rates from June to August 2021 increased by 35.2% compared to the previous quarter. The largest increase in vacancies was seen in accommodation and food service activities, up 75.4%.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the new numbers “indicate that our work plans are working.”
“As we continue to recover from the pandemic, our focus remains on creating opportunities and supporting people’s work,” he said.
However, Jonathan Ato, deputy national statistics bureau of the ONS Economics and Statistics Administration, warned that the recovery was “unequal.”
“In hit areas like London and in areas such as hospitality, art and leisure, the number of workers has dropped significantly to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
Labor shortages have become a serious problem for the economy. Athow said the hospitality sector recorded “the highest percentage of employers reporting jobs.”
“Continuous supply and labor shortages are hampering further growth,” said Matthew Percival, director of personnel and skills at the Confederation of British Industry.
He urged the government to relax immigration rules “so that businesses can temporarily fill the most important vacancies.”
Suren Thiru, Dean of the Department of Economics at the British Chamber of Commerce, said: [are] As a result, the UK unemployment rate could rise to 5.1% in early 2022.
British companies are dissatisfied with the government’s decision to raise taxes, even though they promised not to raise taxes in the 2019 election manifesto.
On September 7, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new health and social welfare tax of 1.25% across the UK, based on national insurance contributions. He said a £ 12 billion ($ 17 billion) tax increase would be needed to reform social health funding and help the National Health Service eliminate the unprocessed portion caused by the pandemic.
PA contributed to this report.
