National Minimum Wage
National Minimum Wage
National Minimum Wage
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<strong>National</strong> <strong>Minimum</strong> <strong>Wage</strong><br />
54<br />
Figure 2.18: Annual Change in Hours Worked, by Sector, UK, 2005-2011<br />
Change in total hours on previous year (per cent)<br />
4<br />
2<br />
0<br />
-2<br />
-4<br />
-6<br />
-8<br />
2005 Q4<br />
2006 Q1<br />
2006 Q2<br />
2006 Q3<br />
2006 Q4<br />
2007 Q1<br />
2007 Q2<br />
2007 Q3<br />
2007 Q4<br />
2008 Q1<br />
2008 Q2<br />
2008 Q3<br />
Quarter<br />
Low-paying sectors<br />
2008 Q4<br />
2009 Q1<br />
2009 Q2<br />
2009 Q3<br />
2009 Q4<br />
2010 Q1<br />
Whole economy<br />
Source: LPC estimates based on LFS Microdata, quarterly, four-quarter moving average, UK, Q1 2004-Q3 2011.<br />
Vacancies and Redundancies<br />
2.84 Vacancies and redundancies are indicators that can also be used to assess the strength or<br />
weakness of the labour market. Having picked up from 424,000 in July 2009 to reach<br />
500,000 at the start of 2011, vacancies fell back in the first half of 2011 to around 460,000<br />
and have remained there, some 230,000 below their pre-recessionary peak. In the depths of<br />
the recession redundancies peaked at over 300,000 in the three months to April 2009 and<br />
then declined steadily to just under 120,000 in the three months to April 2011. They have<br />
since risen back to around 160,000 as the public sector has begun shedding workers.<br />
2.85 A similar picture to the whole economy is found for the distribution (which comprises<br />
wholesale and retail) and hospitality sectors. Vacancies in both low-paying sectors peaked in<br />
March 2008 (at 133,000 in distribution and 67,000 in hospitality) before falling throughout the<br />
recession (with distribution reaching a low of 75,000 in May 2009 and hospitality reaching a<br />
low of 39,000 in September 2009). Vacancies in both sectors have since grown moderately,<br />
reaching 92,000 and 43,000 respectively in September 2011. Redundancies in distribution<br />
and hospitality taken together were 19,000 in March 2008, rose to 70,000 in March 2009<br />
before falling back to 27,000 by December 2009. However, they have risen since, reaching<br />
45,000 in September 2011.<br />
2.86 According to official estimates, numbers of vacancies vary by size of firm, as shown in Figure<br />
2.19. It can be seen that the trend in vacancies in large firms differs from the trends for small<br />
and medium-sized firms. During the recession, vacancies fell first among micro firms then<br />
2010 Q2<br />
2010 Q3<br />
2010 Q4<br />
2011 Q1<br />
2011 Q2<br />
2011 Q3<br />
4<br />
2<br />
0<br />
-2<br />
-4<br />
-6<br />
-8
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