Employment continues to rise

Office for National Statistics

Official employment figures show that the employment rate has continued to rise.

There are now a record number of people in work, the highest level since records began in 1971.

The figures, released by the Office of National Statistics, also show that unemployment is at 4.3%, the lowest since 1975.

The increase is due to people of all ages finding work, with employment levels of those over 50 in work reaching a record high, youth unemployment falling by over 40% since 2010 and the proportion of young people who are unemployed and not in full time education dropping below 5% for the first time.

In the last year, there has been a shift from part-time to full-time employment, 20,000 fewer people relying on zero-hour contracts and full-time and permanent employment are both at a record high.

Separate figures show 1.4 million claims have been made to Universal Credit. Of the 590,000 people now on Universal Credit, 39% are in work.