UK Payrolled Employees Hit 29.5 Million as Regions Climb Above Pre-COVID Levels

Source: Office for National Statistics

Payrolled employees in the United Kingdom grew to 29.5 million in December 2021, but wages for the previous month failed to keep up with inflation for the first time in 17 months. EWU is aflat premarket.

• Payrolled employees in December recorded a growth of 184,000 from the November 2021 level and 409,000 higher than the pre-COVID-19 February 2020 level.
• All regions have climbed above pre-coronavirus levels, with Scotland recording the largest monthly percentage increase.
• The quarterly UK employment rate jumped by 0.2 percentage points to 75.5%, with the part-time workers driving the hike during the three-month period.
• The quarterly unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 4.1%, while the economic inactivity rate jumped 0.2 percentage points to 21.3%.
• Job vacancies for the quarter jumped to a record 1.247 million, up 462,000 from the pre-coronavirus January to March 2020 level.
• Single-month growth for November fell on the year for the first time since July 2020 at -0.9% for total pay and -1.0% for regular pay.