Employment rate has hit an all-time high even though the pace of wage growth has slowed reported the Office for National Statistics.<br />
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A <a href="recent">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-201… study</a> has shown that the number of people employed has surged to 29.73 million. This is the highest level since 1971, when the office began keeping such records.<br />
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This increase occurred during the last quarter of 2012. At the end of January 2013, those claiming unemployment benefit fell by 12,500. The number was much higher than analysts’ forecasts of a reduction of just 5,000.<br />
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According to Rob Wood, a representative of <a href="Berenberg">http://www.berenberg.de/en/home.html">Berenberg Bank</a>, the outlook is good for anyone hoping to gain employment in the near future. Recruitment is up and there are more full-time jobs than ever. <em>“The labour market continues to defy gravity, with employment posting a solid increase in December despite little evidence of any real momentum in the economy.”</em><br />
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Other statistics showed additional signs of improvement in the labour market. The number of people with full-time jobs increased to 21.6 million, which equates to about 200,000 more people fully employed. The number ofself-employed individuals rose to 4.2 million, an increase of over 25,000. <br />
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Despite the growth within the labour market and the reported record highs, the rate of wage growth has slowed. The average weekly earnings only increased by 1.4% during 2012’s final quarter, including bonuses.