mpc.theyserveforyou.com

mpc: 20 The labour market had been strengthening recently. The employment rate in the three months to January had been 0.2 percentage points higher than in the previous three months, according to the Labour Force Survey, and the unemployment rate 0.1 percentage points lower. The LFS data now showed the buoyancy of employment already evident in the Workforce Jobs data and survey measures of employment intentions. But average hours had continued to fall. The fact that average hours had continued to drop while GDP growth had been picking up was consistent with an explanation in terms of structural factors, including the increased importance of part-time employment. It was possible that average hours would continue to drift downwards, but the prospects for labour supply also depended on whether participation rates increased.