Business world given reason for cheer as unemployment continues to fall
by Alastair Cameron
Today, the Office for National Statistics released their latest set of figures for the state of the UK labour market. The stats revealed that, chiefly, 
unemployment fell in the three months until the end of February by 77.000, with the year-on-year figure being 320,000 lower, equivalent to a full percentage point. Any fall in unemployment is welcomed, but what consequences could a rise have?
High unemployment is likely to have a big impact on consumer spending, while demand for high-end goods and services is likely to fall if fewer people have the means to pay for it. This is why the latest unemployment figures coming out of the UK are likely to be greeted by a huge number of businesses, especially as this has been the prevailing trend for close to two years now.
SMEs feeling the benefit?
Understandably, as unemployment has fallen, the number of people now in work has risen. 239,000 more people have moved into employment than between September and November 2013. Year-on-year, this figure rose by 691,000, showing that the labour market is well and truly on the rebound, although some parts of the market are playing catch-up, namely wage growth.
One factor in undermining economic growth has been wages failing to keep pace with inflation, harming small businesses looking to sell their products to as wide a customer base as possible. Nevertheless, as Joshua Raymond, Chief Market Strategist at cityindex.co.uk explained, this is changing for the better as well.
“The UK unemployment rate fell more than expected to 6.9%, its lowest level since February 2009. At the same time, UK earnings grew with three month average earnings hitting 1.7% and rising above inflation (1.6%) for the first time in four years. All in all, this is another pleasing example of improvement in the UK labour market”, he said.
“The fact we now have three-month average earnings rising faster than inflation is an important milestone in the UK recovery. Pressure on consumer spending has been one of the weakest parts of the UK economy in recent years and the ability of the consumer to now earn more than prices are rising gives them greater power and potentially adds another string to the UK recovery”, he added.
Sherpr - The no hassle, premium door to door service for shipping your sports equipment...
Feral Horses is a marketplace startup that acts as an art stock exchange to buy and trade shares of contemporary artworks directly from artists and art galleries.
If you are starting out and considering trading as a sole trader, here's some of the current sole trader and self assessment information you'll need to know.
The Adecco Group have announced a definitive agreement to acquire General Assembly, pioneers in education and career transformation, who provide accelerated learning programs in high-demand 21st-century digital skills.
.jpeg)
GovStart, a six month growth programme run by PUBLIC, to help tech startups transform the public sector is back and looking for its latest cohort.
The first Global Digital Week, happening 23rd-29th April, will take place in more than 7 different countries promoting tech and digital skills in all walks of life.
Do businesses really need clocking in systems? Here's 5 benefits using a time tracking system for employees can bring to a business.
Florence - a marketplace platform for nurses to find shifts in hospitals and nursing homes and for nursing homes to source self-employed nurses.
The secure app for NHS clinicians to easily and instantly communicate with each other, share patient information, and prioritise tasks.
"Be smarter than your newsfeed" thanks to this innovative journalism startup...
Published on: 16th April 2014
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- upSTART, the startup pitch competition at Digital DNA returns for 2018 9th Apr 2018 upSTART, the startup pitch competition that brings together a whole host of top UK, Irish and European tech startups, Investors, and Judges is BACK for 2018 at Digital DNA.
- CreativeTech 100 – are you part of it? 15th Mar 2018 CreativeTech 100 – are you part of it? Tech London Advocates are looking for any startups doing great things in terms of CreativeTech.
- The Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition 2018 15th Mar 2018 The Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition, seeks to nurture creativity & hone entrepreneurial skills amongst Irish-based early-stage tech entrepreneurs.
- Intu Accelerate 2018 hunts for next big thing in retail 13th Mar 2018 intu Accelerate 2018 is once open for applications from startups looking to create the perfect shopping experience.
