Union boss demands 'bold action' to fight 'big challenges' in UK's job market

Bold action is needed to tackle the "big challenges" in the country's labour market after years of Tory cuts, the Trades Union Congress has warned.

General Secretary Paul Nowak said Keir Starmer's Labour government is putting Britain on the road to recovery - but "more is needed". His comments came as official figures showed the UK's unemployment rate remained at a four-year-high as job vacancies declined again.

Average earnings growth - excluding bonuses - remained at 5% for the period to June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It said the rate of unemployment struck 4.7% in the three months to June. It comes after Gordon Brown hit out at the return of 'poverty of 60 years ago' and made one big demand.

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The UK's job vacancies also fell by 44,000 over the three months to July to 718,000 according to figures released today. ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Taken together, these latest figures point to a continued cooling of the labour market. The number of employees on payroll has now fallen in 10 of the last 12 months, with these falls concentrated in hospitality and retail. Job vacancies, likewise, have continued to fall, also driven by fewer opportunities in these industries."

The TUC's Mr Nowak said: "Years of Tory cuts and underinvestment have left big challenges in the jobs market – including continued growth in the use of insecure zero hours contracts. The government is raising national investment, repairing public services, and improving the support people need to get into work. This is putting Britain on the road to recovery.

“But more is needed. Bold action must continue to match the size of the problems we face. This should include improved support for disabled workers and a comprehensive youth guarantee.”

On Tuesday, Rachel Reeves admitted the government had "more to do". The Chancellor told reporters on a trip to Belfast: "In terms of the labour market data that came out today, there was some really positive news in there, that employment since I became Chancellor last year is 384,000 higher.

"So 384,000 more jobs in the economy than there were just over a year ago when I came into office, and although the number of people who were unemployed increased slightly on the quarter, the number of people who are economically inactive actually fell by much more, I think, three times more than the increase in unemployment."

She added: "So some of those people who have been out of the labour market, often for long periods of time, are actually getting into work, and that's really encouraging.

"But the most important figure today is that there are 384,000 more people in work than when I became Chancellor. Is there more to do? Absolutely, there is. Everybody who can work should be in work, and as a Government, we're committed to helping more people back to work. There are huge opportunities in our economy."

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