The CBI today commented on the latest official labour market data, showing that employment rose by 24,000 and unemployment fell by 5,000 in the three months to April, and total pay rose by 1.3%.

Neil Carberry, CBI Director for Employment and Skills, said:

“It’s encouraging to see businesses feel able to pay people a little more through one-off bonuses, as economic conditions appear to have brightened. The use of bonuses rather than base pay awards suggests firms are still being cautious.

“The labour market always lags a few months behind the economy, so it’s not surprising that overall, the picture on unemployment remains fairly flat.

“However, we expect to see improving economic conditions making a more positive impact on job creation later this year and it’s encouraging that once again the private sector more than offset the number of positions lost in the public sector during the first quarter.”
Credit: onrec.com