The IES gives the latest update on the labour market 13 November 2020
The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has released its latest briefing in relation to the labour market, which highlights the fact that, unfortunately, the market continued to weaken in the period from July to September 2020.
As expected, employment levels fell, whilst unemployment rose. Unemployment actually reached the highest level observed since the end of 2016. Employment levels have been lower due to the fact that more people are leaving work, but less are moving back into it. Redundancies were also at a high level in the three-month period to September, and the IES predicts that they will continue to grow over the course of the next two months, before hopefully falling back down again at the start of the new year, in 2021. The IES comments that whilst the level of redundancies is concerning, the figures could have painted a much more worrying picture. Redundancies have risen by 315,000 in this quarter, whilst employment rates have fallen by 570,000 since the start of the outbreak of coronavirus. However, there are five million workers who were not working during lockdown who had returned to work by the end of September, so it is not all doom and gloom.
It is also suggested that there were signs that more vacancies were becoming available in September and October, particularly within smaller companies.
Significant falls in employment appear to be driven by lower self-employment amongst men, particularly full-time work, and lower part-time employment amongst women. Full-time employment for women, however, has seen a significant increase, and there has been a shift whereby more part-time workers are requesting to increase their hours.
Figures show that youth employment has decreased by over 300,000 and that the youth employment rate is at its lowest since 2014.
The quarterly disability figures seem to suggest that the very wide employment gap that exists for disabled people has not narrowed during the pandemic, and that disabled people are now two-and-a-half times more likely than their non- disabled peers to be unemployed.
The paper can be downloaded in full here.
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Kickstart Scheme creates over 19,000 jobs 13 November 2020
HM Treasury has confirmed that the Kickstart Scheme, designed to create jobs for young people, has placed more than 19,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds into job placements so far.
The Government has dedicated £2 billion to put into the scheme, and it is expected that thousands more placements will be created over the course of the next few months. There have also been more than 4,350 applications from employers and gateways, hoping to offer a wide range of jobs, ranging from roles in communications to those in construction.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said:
“Our country’s future will be built by the next generation, so it’s vital that we harness the talent of young people as we rebuild from the pandemic. But this isn’t just about kickstarting our economy, we’re giving opportunity and hope to thousands of young people, kickstarting their careers and offering them a brighter future.” The scheme will run until December 2021, and it is hoped that over 250,000 high-quality jobs will be created for young people as a result, who are amongst those impacted most substantially by the outbreak of coronavirus. Individuals must not be in employment and must be on Universal Credit in order to be eligible for the Kickstart Scheme. Each job placement must last for a period of six months and will be funded by the Government, who will pay 100% of the age- relevant National Minimum Wage (NMW) for 25 hours per week, plus the associated National Insurance (NI) and
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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