April’s good news

April Good News

 

We’re here at the end of each month to remind you that it’s not all doom and gloom! Here’s your monthly dose of goodness – enjoy!

Another fall in Unemployment

 

Unemployment has dropped below 7% for the first time since the recession and employment has seen the biggest annual jump in a generation, figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today (16 April) show.

 

Unemployment fell by 77,000 in the last three months to 2.2m, taking the jobless rate to 6.9% for the first time since 2009.

 

In the largest annual rise in nearly 25 years, the number of people in a job rose by 691,000, bringing the record number of people in work to 30.39m.

 

Cost of living good news

 

Hundreds of thousands of people have been given the “hope of a brighter future” David Cameron has said, as figures showed wages are going up faster than prices.

Labour’s economic strategy was dealt a blow after wages outstripped inflation for the first time in six years, suggesting the “cost of living crisis” is coming to an end.

Wages were up 1.7 per cent this February while official figures showed yesterday that inflation fell for the sixth month in succession to 1.6 per cent.

 

UK Deficit

 

The UK deficit fell by 7.5pc in 2013-14 to £107.7bn after public borrowing in March was lower than expected.

 

UK Manufacturing sharp rise in confidence

 

UK manufacturing confidence sees sharpest improvement since April 1973

Manufacturers have seen the biggest surge in confidence since Edward Heath was at Number 10.

The CBI’s quarterly Industrial Trends Survey recorded a leap in its sentiment index from 21 in January to 33. The 12 point gap was the largest for over 40 years

 

 

76% of employers to hire more permanent staff within the next quarter

 

Three-quarters of employers (76%) plan to hire more permanent staff within the next quarter, according to the latest JobsOutlook survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation.

Positive hiring intentions among micro-businesses, those with 1-10 employees, have increased significantly for the second successive month, helping to fuel growth in the overall figures.