Businesses in the UK continued to add staff to their payrolls in January, a sign that the country’s labor market remained strong despite the Omicron strike.
The staff in corporate payrolls increased by 108,000 in January compared to the previous month, to a record level of 25.9 million, according to data from the statistical service. In December, companies added 131,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in the quarter to December, lower than the 4.2% expected by analysts.
The data indicate a small impact on the labor market due to Omicron.
Recent research suggests that UK businesses consider the recently observed problems to be temporary, so any signs of weakening should be mild, in a job market that is likely to remain tight for most of the year and beyond.
The number of job vacancies from November to January continued to grow to a new record of 1.30 million, the statistical service said.
The average weekly earnings in the quarter up to December without bonuses were 3.7% higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year, compared to 3.8% from September to November.
The UK economy grew by 1% in the last quarter of 2021, despite a 0.2% drop in output in December as Omicron hit business.
Source: Capital
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