Latest official figures revealed that the UK employment rate has reached a new record high of 73.9%, driven by an increase in full-time workers.
The figures claim that there are more than half a million more people in work compared to this time last year, bringing the total number in employment to 31.3 million. Wages are also continuing to grow strongly, up 2.4% over the same period.
Employment Minister Priti Patel said: “We are ending the year on a high, with a record rate of employment, and wages continuing to grow.
“Today’s figures show half-a-million more people in work compared to this time last year, which means hundreds of thousands of families are going into the festive season with the security and hope for the future that work brings.
“Next year we will build on this positive story with the introduction of the National Living Wage and the new offer of 30 hours free childcare for working families. In this way we are delivering the high-wage, low-welfare society with opportunity and security at its heart that we know the British people want.”
The figures also show that the number of people on one of the main out of work benefits is now at its lowest level since the early 1980s, and inactivity is at its lowest rate in a quarter of a century.
Separate figures released show more than 287,000 claims have been made to the new benefit.
However, some from the Asian community is of a strong believe that there is a big difference netween the figure stated and actual reality.
Anand Patel, a young graduate is looking for a job for the past 2 years. Inspite of having a degree in business, he is yet to land anything concrete. Same goes for Aditya Singh, a journalism graduate.
Shaqueela Begum, another student who has graduated recently from a UK university is planning to move to South-East Asia, in hopes to find a job. Speaking to Asian Voice, she said, “It's all good. But Asian community is not rightly represented in these figures. We are still in the bottom pile and more often go jobless. Our parents work longer to support us, but that should not be the case and the govermemt must know otherwise.”
Tariq Ahmed, also looking out for a full-time job said, “To add to the problem is the growing case of Islamophobia. The picture is not really this rosey for us. We form a minority in the British community- but we are a deciding factor in case of votes. The job scene is not improving for us. We are often paid less than the natives and compared to the increasing price of food, salary rise is very minute. One must critically analyse the figures, across all possibilities.”
