Job-to-job Moves Reach Record High

The number of people moving from one job to another has reached a new record, with more employees choosing to transfer to a different role rather than remain with the same company.

According to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), job-to-job moves were so high between July and September 2021 due to an increase in the number of people resigning rather than being dismissed from their roles.

As a result, it helped employment figures rise by 0.4 percentage points during the quarter, growing to 75.4 per cent. This is also 0.4 per cent higher than between July and September 2020.

At the same time, unemployment figures dropped 0.5 percentage points to 4.3 per cent, and by 0.6 per cent when compared with the previous year.

Figures from 2020 are likely to have been skewed because of the coronavirus pandemic, with thousands of people left either without jobs or on the government’s Furlough scheme. However, the recent statistics demonstrate an improvement in the labour market, with job vacancies between August and October increasing to a record high.

Having risen by 388,000 from January to March 2020 – before Covid-19 had an impact on the country’s economy – job vacancies now stand at 1.172 million. Despite a huge decline in 2020, there are now more jobs available in England than prior to the pandemic.

In addition to this, the redundancy rate, which surged during the coronavirus crisis, has settled at 3.7 per 1,000 employees, which is the same at pre-pandemic levels.

The findings also showed there has been a growth in average total pay (including bonuses) of 5.8 per cent and regular pay of 4.9 per cent. This could have been affected by low base periods during the pandemic, as well as a subsequent decline in lower-paid employees over the last 18 months. Therefore, average earnings looked inflated.

However, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) noted that real pay has been falling since April 2021. This

could explain why more jobseekers are those who are already in employment, as they might be looking for a new position that comes with a better salary.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, stated that real pay is now just £2 a week higher than pre-2008 levels.

She said: “If ministers are serious about a high wage economy, they have work to do. The last 12 years have been the worst period for wage growth since Napoleonic times.”

Last week, the government published its latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, revealing growth had slowed from 5.5 per cent in the second quarter of the year to 1.3 per cent in the third.

This is “worrying” for employees, particularly those “who are already expecting real wages to fall”, said Ms O’Grady.

She noted: “Without strong pay growth, demand will be weak and the economy will get stuck in the slow lane again.”

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