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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/18/uk-job-numbers-boosted-by-women-delaying-retirement-lydia-ons-employment-rate
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| UK job numbers boosted by women delaying retirement | UK job numbers boosted by women delaying retirement |
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| Britain’s employment rate reached a record high and wages ticked up in March, dashing government claims that the jobs market was being harmed by the threat of a no vote in the EU referendum. | Britain’s employment rate reached a record high and wages ticked up in March, dashing government claims that the jobs market was being harmed by the threat of a no vote in the EU referendum. |
| The number of people employed increased by 44,000 to 31.58 million while total pay including bonuses edged up by 2% from 1.9% in February on the Office for National Statistics’ rolling three-month-on-three-month measure. | |
| Related: UK employment rate hits record high as more women work longer - live updates | Related: UK employment rate hits record high as more women work longer - live updates |
| The ONS said much of the rise in employment could be attributed to rules forcing women to retire later. In recent years the government has started to push up the retirement age for women from 60, which has added thousands of people to the employment register who would have previously retired. | The ONS said much of the rise in employment could be attributed to rules forcing women to retire later. In recent years the government has started to push up the retirement age for women from 60, which has added thousands of people to the employment register who would have previously retired. |
| The ONS said the employment rate for women hit 69.2% in March, the highest since comparable records began in 1971. Including men, the employment rate was 74.2%, also a record high. | The ONS said the employment rate for women hit 69.2% in March, the highest since comparable records began in 1971. Including men, the employment rate was 74.2%, also a record high. |
| Month-on-month wages including bonuses increased by 1.2% in February following heavy revisions of the data to 2.6% in March, as bonuses paid to City traders took effect. | Month-on-month wages including bonuses increased by 1.2% in February following heavy revisions of the data to 2.6% in March, as bonuses paid to City traders took effect. |
| The rebound from a weaker picture in the first three months of the year defied the predictions of City analysts, who expected a further deterioration in pay to 1.7%. | The rebound from a weaker picture in the first three months of the year defied the predictions of City analysts, who expected a further deterioration in pay to 1.7%. |
| Unemployment fell slightly to 1.69 million, down 2,000 from the previous month. | Unemployment fell slightly to 1.69 million, down 2,000 from the previous month. |
| Last month the work and pensions secretary, Stephen Crabb, said February’s rise in unemployment, the first in seven months, could be the result of Brexit fears. | |
| The senior ONS statistician David Freeman said: “The employment rate has hit another record high, but this time the increase is quite modest. With unemployment very little changed, that is further evidence the jobs market could be cooling off.” | |
| But Jeremy Cook, chief economist at the currency dealer World First, described the figures as indicative of a listless labour market weighed down by Brexit fears. | |
| “Employment in the UK could easily be topping out as we head into the UK’s referendum on its EU membership. Naturally as an economy gets closer to full employment the incremental gains that can be made in the labour market weaken; record highs of employment see to that,” he said. | |
| “While wages have grown slightly this month … these numbers are relatively meaningless in the short term. | |
| “We can say wage pressures are building and be content that industries are not losing workers ahead of the referendum or a near-term slowdown in output, but what was once the crown jewel of UK economic data has been shown to be slightly less lustrous than originally thought. | |
| “Labour market data is typically slow moving and, viewed through a prism of the referendum, is increasingly difficult to gauge. The certainty is that our central scenario of a vote to remain should allow some of this fog to lift. It is only then that damage done can be repaired and the time needed can be determined.” |