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New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that the second quarter of 2010 added over 180 thousand jobs to the economy. Around 115 thousand of the positions filled between April and June were part time jobs.
The number of people now officially classed as being in work in the UK stands at 29 million and the rise during the quarter was the biggest increase in the number of jobs created in 21 years. The number of people unemployed fell by almost 50 thousand to just under two and a half million, bringing the unemployment rate down from 8 per cent at the end of March to 7.8 per cent at the end of June. That compares to a figure of 10 per cent in the wider Eurozone and 9.5 per cent in the United States.
The ONS figures also reveal that the number of individuals now working in part time jobs in the UK is just a fraction short of 8 million. Some businesses have asked staff to reduce their hours to a part time basis and insist that has been one of the main reasons why they have not needed to lay off as many skilled staff as they did in previous economic downturns.
KPMG, for example, have used the part time work strategy over the last year and a half by asking some staff to work four day weeks at certain times. They claim that this measure, along with some staff taking a sabbatical, has prevented them from cutting the equivalent of 100 jobs.
Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Kevin Green said that the ONS figures pretty much agree with the feedback they are receiving from people in the know in the job market. “Recruitment professionals have reported an increase in both temporary and permanent staff appointments over recent months, although the rates of growth have started to ease.”
So, for the moment it looks like the move towards a more flexible workforce in the UK is set to continue. We have a continuous supply of vacancies with flexible hours which are just perfect for students and young people generally. Take a look at our latest part time job opportunities in your area now.
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