Response to ONS labour market statistics, April 2021

The latest ONS labour market figures were published this morning. Commenting on the figures, REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said:

“These figures show continued resilience in the labour market despite the winter lockdown. The unemployment rate was lower than the previous quarter – reflecting an upturn in hiring, as REC surveys and today’s vacancies numbers suggest.

“The number of temporary workers was up by 5.4% on the previous quarter - yet again demonstrating the huge importance of temporary work helping to maintain a strong labour market despite the pandemic. The role of temporary work in supporting incomes has been a constant of the pandemic.

“We now need to look to how we support this recovery. A reform of the apprenticeship levy to support retraining for older workers  and opportunity for younger workers - who have been particularly hard hit - is now essential.”

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