The number of temporary employees in the UK fell by 6.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis to a total of approximately 1.42 million for the three-month period from July through September 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 temporary agency workers perhaps better, casual workers, seasonal workers and others in temporary work.

The number of temporary employees as a percentage of total employment was 5.1%, down from 5.5% compared to the same period a year ago.

Compared to the previous period ended in July 2019, the number of temporary employees increased by 1.5%.

Of the 1.42 million temporary employees during the period ended September 2019, approximately 351,000 were temporary because they could not find a permanent job; 365,000 did not want a permanent job; 135,000 had a contract with a period of training; and 569,000 cited other reasons.

Of the 1.42 million temporary workers, approximately 656,000 were men while approximately 764,000 were women.

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

The UK employment rate was estimated at 76.0%; 0.5% higher than a year earlier but 0.1% lower than last quarter.

The highest employment rate estimate in the UK was in the South West (81.0%) and the lowest was in the North East (71.2%).

The UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.8%; 0.2% lower than a year earlier and 0.1% lower than last quarter.

The highest unemployment rate estimate in the UK was in the North East (5.9%) and the lowest was in Northern Ireland (2.5%).

The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 20.8%; 0.3% lower than a year earlier but 0.1% higher than last quarter.

Estimated annual growth in average weekly earnings for employees in the UK was 3.6% for both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses).

In real terms (after adjusting for inflation), annual growth in total pay is estimated to be 1.8% and annual growth in regular pay is estimated to be 1.7%.

For the period from August to October 2019, there were an estimated 800,000 vacancies in the UK, 53,000 fewer than a year earlier and 18,000 fewer than for the previous quarter ended July 2019.

Neil Carberry CEO at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, commented, “The UK labour market has shown incredible resilience in the face of uncertainty and political turmoil. This year has seen record numbers of people in work and there are big opportunities out there. But the warning signs are there in the form of slowing jobs growth and falling vacancies while REC data shows skills shortages across a number of sectors like construction and retail.”