LONDON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Britain's employment rate was estimated at a record high of 76.5 percent in the last quarter of 2019, 0.4 percent higher than the previous quarter, according to figures released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The number of people in work increased by 180,000 to 32.93 million in the quarter, as the number of people deemed economically inactive also shrank, the ONS said.
The ONS said the figure was mainly driven by quarterly increases for full-time workers, the largest since March to May 2014, and in particular, increase for women in employment, the largest since February to April 2014.
The quarterly increase for women working full-time, up 150,000, was the largest since November 2012 to January 2013, it said.
Figures showed that from October to December 2019, the unemployment rate was estimated at 3.8 percent, 0.1 percent lower than the previous quarter. It means an estimated 1.29 million people were unemployed, 73,000 fewer than a year earlier and 580,000 fewer than five years earlier.
The ONS said Britain's labour market remains robust. Myrto Miltiadou, deputy head of labour market statistics of the ONS said: "Employment has continued its upward trend, with the rate nudging up to another record high. The number of job vacancies has also increased on the quarter, after falling for most of last year."
"In real terms, regular earnings have finally risen above the level seen in early 2008, but pay including bonuses is still below its pre-downturn peak," Miltiadou said.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The clear recovery in all survey indicators of labour demand since the general election suggests that job postings will pick up soon. In addition, we remain confident that wages will regain momentum this year." Enditem
