UK unemployment rate rises to 3.9% as company payrolls shrink – business live

The troubled mobile operator giant Vodafone is to cut 11,000 jobs from its global workforce over the next three years.

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The company, which has seen its share price slump to a two-decade low, said it needed to restructure its business to compete against rivals and improve the experience for its tens of millions of customers.

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The job cuts, which follow the announcement in November of a €1bn (£870m) cost savings plan, mark the first big move by the new group chief executive, Margherita Della Valle.

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“Today I am announcing my plans for Vodafone,” said former finance chief Della Valle, who was appointed chief executive last month.

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“Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change.”

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More here:

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Here’s ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan to explain today’s UK labour market report report:

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“Employment and unemployment both rose again in the first three months of 2023, driven in particular by men. This means the number of those neither working nor looking for work continues to fall, although the number of people not working due to long-term sickness rose again, to a new record.

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“However, the number of people on employers’ payrolls fell in April for the first time in over two years, though this is an early estimate that could be revised later.

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“Despite continued growth in pay, people’s average earnings are still being outstripped by rising prices.

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“The number of days lost to strikes rose again in March, with education and health making up four-fifths of the total this month.

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UK workers continued to be hit by falling real wages, with earnings continuing to lag behind rising prices.

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Average total pay, including bonuses, rose by 5.8% per year in the January-March quarter.

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Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose to 6.7%, up from 6.6%.

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Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 7.0% and for the public sector was 5.6% in January to March 2023. A larger rise for public sector pay was last seen in August to October 2003 (5.7%), the ONS says.

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However, CPI inflation was 10.1% in March, so real wages are still falling.

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Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

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The UK’s unemployment rate has risen, with companies shedding workers as the jobs market cools, and more people look for work.

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Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics show that the UK’s jobless rate rose to 3.9% in the January-March quarter, up from 3.8% a month earlier.

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The increase in unemployment was largely driven by people unemployed for over 12 months, the ONS says.

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More timely data shows that firms cut their payrolls by 136,000 in April, to 29.8 million.

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This is the first fall in total payrolled employees since February 2021, the ONS says (adding that the data may be revised next month).

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A sign that the economy has lost momentum, with higher interest rates weighing on demand.

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The number of employees on the payroll fell by 136,000 in April 2023, its first fall since February 2021.  It is now 838,000 above its pre #COVID19 pandemic level.

➡️ https://t.co/0X3dcQxySA pic.twitter.com/kFw1GvDSBC

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 16, 2023

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In another sign that the labour market is weakening, the number of vacancies fell by 55,000 on the quarter to 1,083,000 in February-April.

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The ONS says:

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Vacancies fell on the quarter for the 10th consecutive period and reflect uncertainty across industries, as survey respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment.

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But, there has also been a notable move of people back into the labour market – either finding work, or looking for it. This has pulled the UK’s economic inactivity rate down by 0.4 percentage points on the quarter, to 21.0% in January to March.

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The ONS says:

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The decrease in economic inactivity during the latest three-month period was largely driven by people aged 16 to 24 years. Looking at economic inactivity by reason, the quarterly decrease was largely driven by those inactive because they are students or inactive for other reasons

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Flows estimates show that, between October to December 2022 and January to March 2023, there has been a record high net flow out of economic inactivity. This was driven by people moving from economic inactivity to employment.

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This has also nudged up the UK’s employment rate to 75.9% in January to March 2023, 0.2 percentage points higher than October to December 2022.

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The increase in employment over the latest three-month period was driven by part-time employees and self-employed workers, the ONS says.

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Headline indicators for the UK labour market for January to March 2023 show:

▪️ employment was 75.9%
▪️ unemployment was 3.9%
▪️ economic inactivity was 21.0%

➡ https://t.co/WM5mt69w4r pic.twitter.com/tRwdxUfWvn

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) May 16, 2023

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Also coming up

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MPs from the Business & Trade Committee will quiz the leadership of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on their ambitions for the body today.

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CMA chief executive SarahCardell and chair MarcusBokkerink will be quizzed about the regulators interventions in high-profile merger attempts, including Microsoft’s purchase of gaming firm Activision Blizzard.

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That deal received the green light from the EU yesterday, with Brussels accepting Microsoft’s concessions on cloud gaming,

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The European Commission has required Microsoft to license popular Activision Blizzard games automatically to competing cloud gaming services. This will apply globally and will empower millions of consumers worldwide to play these games on any device they choose.

— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) May 15, 2023

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Elsewhere in Westminster, farmers, retailers and others from across the UK food chain will attend a summit to discuss the food crisis at Downing Street today.

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The agenda

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• 7am BST: UK labur market report

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• 9.30am BST: Government hosts Food Summit

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• 10am BST: ZEW economic sentiment index

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• 10.30am BST: Business & Trade Committee quiz the Competitions and Markets Authority

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• 1.30pm BST: US retail sales for April

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Key events

Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs worldwide

Mark Sweney

The troubled mobile operator giant Vodafone is to cut 11,000 jobs from its global workforce over the next three years.

The company, which has seen its share price slump to a two-decade low, said it needed to restructure its business to compete against rivals and improve the experience for its tens of millions of customers.

The job cuts, which follow the announcement in November of a €1bn (£870m) cost savings plan, mark the first big move by the new group chief executive, Margherita Della Valle.

“Today I am announcing my plans for Vodafone,” said former finance chief Della Valle, who was appointed chief executive last month.

“Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change.”

More here: