Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation, responded to the Labour market overview February 2022 released by the Office for National Statistics
This month's labour market statistics indicates the highest level of payrolled employees on record, with 29.5 million employees in the UK. The latest Labour Force Survey estimates for October to December 2021 suggest that the employment rate has increased by 0.1 percentage points to 75.5%.
However, wage growth is being outpaced by inflation. If left unchecked, this will lead to real terms pay cuts for millions with many workers already seeing less money in their wallets as energy and fuel prices soar.
In this context, the current council tax rebate' on offer from Government is unlikely to be sufficient to ensure many families can make ends meet. More targeted support for those least well off must be prioritised - including by ensuring that Universal Credit payments are increased to tackle the cost of living in the short-term.