The South West has more people in work than anywhere else in the 海角视频, new figures reveal.

Numbers crunched by the Office for National Statistics show 80.1% of adults in the region are in work.

The figures is down by 0.1% on the previous quarter but Nicky Keast, at Jobcentre Plus in Plymouth said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 still really good.鈥

In Plymouth, 5,837 people are claiming the Universal Credit benefit, which is down from 6,020 in the previous quarter of 2019.

Mrs Keast said the job market was strong in the city with workers needed for customer service roles, and in construction, catering, admin, care, security and hospitality.

鈥淐all centres are already recruiting for Christmas,鈥 she said.

There has been a shortage of construction workers in the South West

Nationally, vacancies stood at 827,000 in March to May 2019. Meanwhile, a record high of 32.75million people were in work up to the end of May, while 1.29million were unemployed 鈥 still the lowest total since at least 1992.

As 354,000 more people entered the workforce in the past year, female employment in the 海角视频 also continued to increase, remaining at its record high of 72%,

New figures also show the level of聽youth unemployment in the 海角视频 has聽nearly聽halved since 2010, falling by 47%.

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Overall the 海角视频鈥檚 unemployment rate remains at its lowest since 1974 at 3.8%, with female unemployment reaching a new record low of 3.6%.

The largest fall in unemployment was also among people unemployed for over a year.

Across the 海角视频, wage growth accelerated to 3.6% in the year to May 2019 - the highest rate since 2008. Real terms above inflation pay rose 1.7%, the fastest since October 2015.

Wages have now been outpacing inflation since March 2018 and it is being put down to two factors: some NHS staff have had pay increases, and the new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates have been introduced.

The new rates benefit lowest-paid workers in industries such as wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants.

Average pay before tax and other deductions was estimated at 拢503 a week.

Employment rates are at a record high

However, when adjusted for the impact of rising prices, pay is still below levels seen before the 2008 financial crash. Average pay was 拢468 a week when inflation adjusted. This is still 拢5 less than the pre-recession peak of 拢473 a week, in April 2008.

Employment Minister Alok Sharma said: 鈥淲ages outpacing inflation for 16 months in a row,聽more people in work than ever before and joint-record female employment, means better prospects for many thousands of 海角视频 families and shows the continued resilience of the 海角视频 labour market.

鈥淲ith unemployment still falling, remaining at its lowest level since 1974, its clear that 海角视频 employers continue to have confidence in our hard-working workforce.

鈥淎nd with many schools breaking up this week there are some great opportunities for young people to get a taste of work over the summer 鈥 boosting their CVs as well as their bank balances as they prepare for their future careers.鈥

However, Ben Keighley, social media recruitment specialist Socially Recruited, said the high employment rate means headaches for employers.

And he warned: 鈥淭he headline figures can also mask what鈥檚 happening on the front line. The retail sector is haemorrhaging jobs, while employers in booming industries like IT are struggling to find the staff they need to grow.

South West professionals in the news

鈥淎lthough it would appear to be an employee鈥檚 job market on the surface, the situation is fragile with pay levels still struggling to reach the pre-recession levels of 11 years ago despite the moderate pick up in wage growth.鈥

Pawel Adrjan, 海角视频 economist at the global job site Indeed, noted that the employment rate has fallen for the first time since last year.

鈥淭iny though the slide is, it鈥檚 a hint that Britain鈥檚 booming jobs market could finally be colliding with the ceiling of full employment,鈥 he said.

To contact William Telford: william.telford@reachplc.com

鈥淚t鈥檚 far too early to tell if this is a blip or a turning point. Other elements of the latest labour market snapshot remain resolutely rosy. The unemployment rate is firmly grounded at its historically low level and wage growth is slowly picking up again.

鈥淢ost encouraging of all are the signs that more people are re-entering the workforce.鈥

Matt Weston, Managing Director at Robert Half 海角视频, said: 鈥淚n the second half of the year, one of the largest obstacles businesses will face is the ongoing digitalisation of the workplace. To overcome this challenge, many are planning to hire candidates with the necessary technical skills to help them adapt and evolve.Candidates with these skills are in short supply.鈥