Employment in the UK fell by 247,000 in July-September

Employment in the UK fell by 247,000 in July-September compared with the previous year, the Office for National Statistics reports, to 32.51m.

That’s the largest annual decrease since January to March 2010, another grim consequences of the pandemic.

Employment decreased by 164,000 on the quarter.

The ONS says there was a sharp fall in part-time and self-employed workers, while the number of women in full-time jobs saw a record increase.

“Looking more closely at the quarterly decrease in employment, it can be seen that this is driven by decreases in the number of part-time workers (down 158,000 on the quarter to 8.11 million) and self-employed people (down 174,000 to 4.53 million, with a record 99,000 decrease for women).

“The quarterly decrease was partly offset by an increase in full-time employees, up by 113,000 on the quarter to a record high of 21.17 million. The increase in full-time employees was driven by women (up a record 165,000 on the quarter to 8.72 million), while men decreased by 53,000 to 12.45 million, the first quarterly decrease since March to May 2019.”