The number of temporary employees in the UK fell by 0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis to a total of 1.54 million in the three-month period from December 2018 through to February 2019 when compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Temporary workers are self-identified when surveyed by the ONS, and they include those who are on fixed-period contracts, agency temp workers, casual workers, seasonal workers and others in temporary work.

The number of temporary employees as a percentage of total employment was 5.6%, down slightly from 5.7% compared to the same period a year ago.

Compared to the previous period ended in January 2019, the number of temporary employees also saw a slight increase of 0.5%.

Of the 1.54 million temporary employees during the period ended February 2019, approximately 408,200 were temporary because they could not find a permanent job; 453,00 did not want a permanent job; 135,940 had a contract with a period of training; and 548,000 cited other reasons.

ONS also published labour market figures for the three-month period ended February 2019.

The UK employment rate stood at 76.1%, higher than for a year earlier (75.4%) and the joint-highest figure on record.

At the same time, the unemployment rate stood at 3.9%. This figure has not been lower since November 1974 to January 1975.

Average weekly earnings for employees (excluding bonuses) were estimated to have increased by 3.4%, before adjusting for inflation, and by 1.5%, after adjusting for inflation, compared with a year earlier.

Including bonuses, average weekly earnings for employees were estimated to have increased by 3.5%, before adjusting for inflation, and by 1.6%, after adjusting for inflation, compared with a year earlier.

The UK economic inactivity rate for December 2018 to February 2019 was estimated at 20.7%, lower than for a year earlier (21.2%) and the joint-lowest figure on record.

Turning to job vacancies, for the period from January to March 2019 there were an estimated 852,000 vacancies in the UK, 32,000 more than a year earlier.

ONS deputy head of labour market statistics Matt Hughes commented, “The jobs market remains robust, with the number of people in work continuing to grow. The increase over the past year is all coming from full-timers, both employees and the self-employed.”

“Earnings have now been growing ahead of inflation for over a year but, in real terms, wage levels have not yet returned to their pre-downturn peak,” Hughes said.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, commented, “Today’s figures demonstrate the strength of the jobs market, which is a key UK success story. There are opportunities out there for job-seekers to move and take their careers to the next level.”