Record-breaking numbers of women in work as employment continues to rise

Record-breaking numbers of women are now in work – the employment rate of 67.2% is the highest since records began and over 14 million women are in employment, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics.

The growth in overall employment also continued with the number of people in work rising 193,000 on the quarter. 

This month’s figures show that UK nationals made up nearly nine-tenths of the rise in employment in the last year.

The number of unemployed people fell 125,000 in the last three months, with the number of people who were long-term unemployed also falling by 45,000. The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance has fallen for the 15th consecutive month.

The number of young people who are in work increased by 49,000 in the last three months, with the number claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance falling for the last 20 months.

The latest figures show the number of job vacancies increased in the last three months by 28,000 and are up by over 100,000 since 2010, to 580,000.