UK unemployment fell to 3.6% in the second quarter, the lowest since 1974.
This is reported by the BBC with reference to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
One of the reasons for the decline in the unemployment rate is the increase in the number of people who are no longer looking for work and are therefore not counted in the unemployment statistics. The inactivity rate rose to 21.7%, the highest since 2017.
Britons have stopped looking for work due to low rates of wage growth, which does not correspond to the level of inflation.
Average wage growth in the private sector from May to July was 6%, in the public sector — 2%. According to the ONS, this is the biggest difference in pay growth between the private and public sectors in the history of statistics, except during the pandemic.
The temporary refusal of the British to look for new work has created a labor shortage in the country. There are currently 1.2 million job openings in Britain, but interest in them has fallen significantly.