Strong job figures point to continuing UK recovery

17th June 2014

·In the three months to April 2014, the unemployment rate was 6.

6%, down from 7.2% in the previous three months ·In the three months to April 2014, unemployment fell by 161,000 compared with the previous three months, while employment increased by 345,000 ·In the three months to April 2014, youth unemployment was 18.5%, down 1.3% from the previous three months ·The claimant count in May 2014 was down 27,400 from April 2014 ·In the three months to April 2014, total pay including bonuses was 0.7% higher than a year earlier, while pay excluding bonuses was 0.9% higher Commenting on the labour market statistics for June 2014, published today by the ONS, David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: -The labour market is continuing to strengthen, with employment rising, unemployment declining and the number of inactive people also falling. These figures demonstrate the resilience and flexibility of the UK jobs market and points to continued strong positive growth in the second quarter of this year. -However, these positive job figures should not be used as an argument for supporting early increases in UK interest rates and greater clarity on the future path of rates from the MPC would help businesses to plan future investment. To build upon these figures, it is important that we see measures to increase productivity and firmer action on youth and long term unemployment.