The number of temporary employees in the UK fell by 4.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis to a total of 1.54 million in the three-month period from October through December 2017 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.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the UK for the period from October through December 2017 was 4.4%, down from 4.8% for a year earlier. There were 1.47 million unemployed people which was 123,000 fewer than for a year earlier.

The employment rate stood at 75.2% the same period, higher than for a year earlier (74.6%). There were 32.15 million people in work, which is 321,000 more than for a year earlier.

ONS figures also showed that there were 901,000 people (not seasonally adjusted) in employment on “zero-hours contracts” in their main job, steady compared with a year earlier.

For the same period, the number of self-employed people decreased by 18,000 to 4.78 million.

Estimates from ONS also showed that average weekly earnings for employees in the UK in nominal terms (not adjusted for price inflation) increased by 2.5% both including and excluding bonuses compared with a year earlier. Average weekly earnings in real terms (adjusted for price inflation) fell by 0.3%, both including and excluding bonuses, compared with a year earlier.

In the period from November 2017 to January 2018, there were 823,000 job vacancies. This was 70,000 more than for a year earlier.

Senior ONS statistician Matt Hughes commented on the figures, "While this is the sharpest increase in the unemployment level ONS has seen in almost five years, the number of people in work has continued to rise and there are fewer ‘economically inactive’ people – those neither working nor looking for a job. Earnings continue to grow more slowly than prices.”

“Rising employment this past year was largely driven by UK nationals,” Hughes said. “In particular, fewer citizens of the eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and of non-EU countries were in work than in the year before.  But it’s important to remember these figures simply look at the number of people in work, and aren’t a measure of migration.”

Julia Kermode, Chief Executive of the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association, also commented on the figures, “Once again this month’s labour market statistics point to a decrease in self-employment which again shines a spotlight on the impact that the IR35 reforms in the public sector are now having by forcing those working through personal service companies to consider an employed option if they are deemed inside IR35.”

Tom Hadley, Director of Policy at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, also commented, “The feedback from recruiters is that one of the overriding challenges remains finding the right candidates for the available vacancies. The fact that more people are now seeking work could help this situation. However, the biggest issue is the skills mismatch the country is facing and the new jobseekers might not necessarily have what employers are looking for.”

“Our own data shows that businesses are offering higher starting salaries for new hires which demonstrates what they are prepared to do to find the talent they need. Another specific way to address skills shortages is for government to broaden the Apprenticeship Levy so the whole workforce including agency workers can benefit from training,” Hadley said.