Number of UK payroll employees increased 275,000 in February from January reaching 29.7 million: ONS

Sample article from our Housing & Economy

LONDON , March 15, 2022 (press release) –

Estimates of employment, unemployment, economic inactivity and other employment-related statistics for the UK.

Main points

  • Our latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for November 2021 to January 2022 show a continuing recovery in the labour market, with a quarterly increase in the employment rate and a decrease in the unemployment rate. However, economic inactivity has increased slightly on the quarter.
  • The UK employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 75.6%. Full-time employees drove the increase in the employment rate during the latest three-month period. While the number of part-time employees decreased strongly during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it has been increasing since April to June 2021. However, the number of self-employed workers remains low following decreases through the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Our most timely estimate of payrolled employees shows another monthly increase (up 275,000) in February 2022 to a record 29.7 million.
  • The unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 3.9%, while the economic inactivity rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 21.3%. During the coronavirus pandemic, increases in economic inactivity compared with the previous three-month period were largely driven by those aged 16 to 24 years. However, the number of economically inactive people aged 16 to 24 years has been decreasing since early 2021, with those aged 50 to 64 years driving the recent increases in economic inactivity. Yesterday we published an article looking at this age group in more detail.
  • The number of job vacancies in December 2021 to February 2022 rose to a new record of 1,318,000. This is an increase of 105,000 from last quarter, with half of the industry sectors showing record highs. However, the rate of growth in vacancies continued to slow down.
  • Growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 4.8% and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 3.8% among employees in November 2021 to January 2022. In real terms (adjusted for inflation), growth in total pay was 0.1% and regular pay fell on the year at negative 1.0%; strong bonus payments over the past 6 months have kept recent real total pay growth positive. Previous months' strong growth rates were affected upwards by base and compositional effects. These initial temporary factors have worked their way out. However, we are now comparing the latest period with a period where certain sectors had increasing numbers of employees on furlough because of the winter 2020 to 2021 lockdown, so a small amount of base effect will be present for these sectors. This will not be to the degree we saw when comparing periods at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Industry Intelligence Editor's Note: This press release omits select charts and/or marketing language for editorial clarity. Click here to view the full report.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.

See our dashboard in action - schedule an demo
Jason Irving
Jason Irving
- SVP Enterprise Solutions -

We offer built-to-order housing & economy coverage for our clients. Contact us for a free consultation.

About Us

We deliver market news & information relevant to your business.

We monitor all your market drivers.

We aggregate, curate, filter and map your specific needs.

We deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.

Our Contacts

1990 S Bundy Dr. Suite #380,
Los Angeles, CA 90025

+1 (310) 553 0008

About Cookies On This Site

We collect data, including through use of cookies and similar technology ("cookies") that enchance the online experience. By clicking "I agree", you agree to our cookies, agree to bound by our Terms of Use, and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. For more information on our data practices and how to exercise your privacy rights, please see our Privacy Policy.