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Record 32.9 million in work as women’s opportunities grow

Jeremy Selwyn
Jeremy Selwyn

The UK’s employment rate has hit a record high with a growing number of women in full-time jobs, official figures reveal today.

In the three months to November, 32.9 million people aged 16 and over were in employment, 359,000 more than a year earlier, which dampened expectations that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will cut interest rates from 0.75 per cent later this month.

The increase was largely driven by more full-time workers, up 349,000 on the year to a record high of 24.36 million, and women, up 317,000 on the year to another record high of 15.58 million.

The changes pushed the UK employment rate to its highest point on record, at 76.3 per cent.

“The continued resilience of the labour market increases the chances that the MPC will take a rain-check next week, instead of cutting bank rate immediately,” said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefit dropped by 7,000 to just below 1.31 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

It means that 3.8 per cent of people who are looking for work do not have a job, the lowest level since December 1974.

Employment minister Mims Davies said: “Our jobcentres go beyond getting people into work — they are about community and progression. This, coupled with business confidence turning a corner, is paving the way for an even stronger jobs market in 2020.”

David Freeman, ONS head of labour markets and households, said: “Self-employment has been growing strongly, and the number of people working for themselves has now passed five million for the first time ever.”

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