The number of temporary workers in the UK fell by 3.07% in the October-December 2022 period when compared to the same three-month period last year, according to seasonally adjusted data by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The number of temporary workers totalled approximately 1.65 million from October to December 2022.

When compared to the previous three-month period, the number of temporary workers fell by 2.06%

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

Of the 1.65 million temporary employees during the period ended December 2022, approximately 359,291 were temporary because they could not find a permanent job; 510,708 did not want a permanent job; 161,185 had a contract with a period of training, and 623,801 cited other reasons.

Of the 1.65 million temporary employees during the period, approximately 788,322 were men, while 866,664 were women.

Further labour market data from the ONS also showed that the unemployment rate for October to December 2022 increased by 0.1% on the quarter, to 3.7%. In the latest three-month period, the number of people unemployed for up to six months increased, driven by people aged 16 to 24 years. Those unemployed for over six, and up to 12, months also increased, while those unemployed for over 12 months decreased in the recent period.

For the three months ending December 2022, the highest unemployment rate estimates in the UK were in the Northeast and London (4.5%) and the lowest was in the South West (2.1%). The East of England had the largest increase in the unemployment rate compared with the same period last year, increasing by 0.5%, with the Northeast seeing the largest decrease of 1.1%.

The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.6% in October to December 2022, 0.2 percentage points higher than the previous three-month period. The increase in employment over the latest three-month period was driven by part-time workers.

For the three months ending December 2022, the highest employment rate estimate in the UK was in the Southwest (80.3%) and the lowest was in the Northeast (71.0%); Scotland (76.6%) saw a record-high employment rate. The largest increase in the employment rate compared with the same period last year was in Northern Ireland, up by 3.1%, with Wales seeing the largest decrease of 2.6%.

The most timely estimate of payrolled employees for January 2023 shows another monthly increase, up 102,000 on the revised December 2022 figures, to 30.0 million. The number of payrolled employees continued to rise in all regions on the month to January 2023, with the strongest increases in the East of England, London and the South East.

The economic inactivity rate decreased by 0.3% on the quarter, to 21.4% in October to December 2022. The decrease in economic inactivity during the latest three-month period was driven by people aged 16 to 24 years. Looking at economic inactivity by reason, the quarterly decrease was driven by those inactive because they are students, retired, or long-term sick.

For the three months ending December 2022, the highest economic inactivity rate estimate in the UK was in Northern Ireland (26.3%) and the lowest was in the Southwest (18.0%). Wales saw the largest increase in the inactivity rate compared with the same period last year, up 2.3%, with Northern Ireland seeing the largest decrease of 2.6%.

In November 2022 to January 2023, the estimated number of job vacancies fell by 76,000 on the quarter to 1,134,000, the seventh consecutive quarterly fall since May to July 2022. The fall in the number of vacancies reflects uncertainty across industries, as survey respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment.

Growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 5.9% and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 6.7% among employees in October to December 2022. For regular pay, this is the strongest growth rate seen outside of the Covid-19 pandemic period. Average regular pay growth for the private sector was 7.3% in October to December 2022, and 4.2% for the public sector; outside of the height of the Covid-19 pandemic period, this is the largest growth rate seen for the private sector.

In real terms (adjusted for inflation), growth in total and regular pay fell on the year in October to December 2022, by 3.1% for total pay and by 2.5 for regular pay. 

Meanwhile, there were 843,000 working days lost because of labour disputes in December 2022, which is the highest since November 2011.

In October to December 2022, the number of people reporting redundancy in the three months before the ONS interviews increased by 0.8 per thousand employees compared with the previous three-month period, to 3.5 per thousand employees.

When compared with the previous three-month period, total actual weekly hours worked decreased by 2.9 million hours to 1.04 billion hours in October to December 2022. This is 16.6 million hours below pre-Covid-19 levels (December 2019 to February 2020).

ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said, “The last quarter of 2022 saw fewer people remaining outside the labour market altogether, with some moving straight back into a job and others starting to seek work again. This meant that although employment rose again, unemployment edged up also.”

“Although there is still a large gap between earnings growth in the public and private sectors, this narrowed slightly in the latest period. Overall, pay, though, continues to be outstripped by rising prices, Morgan said. “Though still at historically very high levels, job vacancies have dropped again, with a particularly sharp fall from the smallest employers.”

“The number of working days lost to strikes rose again sharply in December,” Morgan said. “Transport and communications remained the most heavily affected area, but this month there was also a large contribution from the health sector.”

Kate Shoesmith, deputy chief executive of REC, said, “This is a very steady set of job figures and further evidence of the UK’s robust labour market, which is good news, given the global levels of uncertainty right now. But when both productivity and economic inactivity are not improving from pre-pandemic levels, we must focus on the fixes.”

“Recruiters and business groups still warn that labour shortages are holding back economic growth. Only by working together can employers and government hope to draw more people, from a range of backgrounds, into the labour force,” Shoesmith said. “Next month’s Spring Budget is the opportunity for government to provide further stability, clarity and much needed support so that the economy can thrive despite the now stubborn labour shortages.”

Ann Swain, Global CEO of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), said, “It’s important to note that the fall in vacancies recorded between November 2022 and January 2023 will also be influenced by a seasonal slowdown in December. However, with the ONS also citing ‘economic pressures’ as the reason why businesses are holding back on recruitment, the widespread reports from the end of 2022 that the UK will be in a recession in 2023 clearly had an impact. With a confirmation from the National Institute of Economic & Social Research (Niesr) that we have avoided this downfall, we do expect to see these figures continue to increase once again.”

“It should be noted, though, that much of the fall in vacancies that we’ve seen in the last few months are, in fact, more of a return to normal following the record highs of H1 2022,” Swain said. “The numbers themselves still remain above pre-pandemic levels at over one million for the three months to January 2023. With the employment rate up during the same period, a labour market shortage is clearly still an issue across the country.”

ManpowerGroup UK Director, Chris Gray, said, ““Access to talent is a key issue and one that must be looked at further. Ensuring wider labour market participation is important and whilst inactivity has fallen by 113,000 in the last quarter it still remains stubbornly high.”