Research: UK labour market: August 2018

The latest estimates from the Labour Force Survey have been released for January to March 2018 and April to June 2018. They reveal that the number of people in work increased and the number of unemployed people decreased.

Key findings

• Average weekly earnings for employees in nominal terms (not adjusted for price inflation) increased by 2.7 per cent excluding bonuses, and by 2.4 per cent including bonuses, compared with a year earlier.
• Average weekly earnings in real terms (adjusted for price inflation) increased by 0.4 per cent excluding bonuses, and by 0.1 per cent including bonuses, compared with a year earlier.
• The employment rate was 75.6 per cent, unchanged compared with January to March 2018 but higher than for a year earlier (75.1 per cent).
• There were 780,000 people in employment on “zero-hours contracts” in their main job, 104,000 fewer than for a year earlier.