Today saw the ending of furlough fears eased as there were more job openings than ever and payroll numbers increased.
Recent figures suggest that the effects of ending the huge bailout might be mostly absorbed into the labour market.
Last month’s payroll count reached 29.3million, an increase of 160,000 over September.
In the quarter August-October, there were 1172,000 vacant posts. This is 388,000 less than pre-Covid.
Meanwhile the employment rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 75.4 per cent between July and September, while unemployment dipped 0.5 percentage points to 4.3 per cent.
But, inflation concerns are being raised. The annual increase in wages and bonuses was 5.8 percentage points, despite the fact that the numbers have suffered from the effects of pandemic.
The quarter ended with 1,172,000 unfilled posts, which is 388,000 less than the preCovid level.
Sam Beckett, ONS’ head of economic statistics said that it might take several months for the full effect of furlough to be seen. People who were laid off at September’s end could still receive redundancy payments.
However, an October estimate indicates that payrolls rose sharply in October. This is well ahead of its pre-pandemic peak.
“There are no signs of a rebound in redundancies and companies tell us that only very few of their furloughed employees have been laid off. Furthermore, the number of vacancies reached an all-time high.
Employment minister Mims Davies said: ‘With over 100,000 young people landing roles through the Kickstart scheme, more people on payrolls this quarter in all corners of the country, and unemployment continuing to fall, it is clear our Plan for Jobs is working.’
Payrolls saw a rise of 160,000 in September to 29.3million, an increase from September.