UK online job adverts rise by 4% in early March: ONS

THE number of online job adverts in Britain increased by 4 per cent in the week to Mar 3 compared with the previous week, but was 20 per cent lower than a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday (Mar 9).

The Bank of England (BOE) is closely monitoring Britain’s labour market for signs of further inflationary pressure.

Thursday’s data – which the ONS gets from job search engine Adzune – echo other mixed signals about the labour market.

A shortage of workers has intensified following Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ONS said 27 per cent of businesses with at least 10 staff reported worker shortages in late February, similar to the 28 per cent reported in early January.

Other indicators of the wider economy, including consumer confidence and business surveys, have shown improvement, easing worries about a lengthy recession.

The ONS said that spending on debit and credit cards rose by 3 percentage points in the week to Mar 2 compared with the same week in 2022.

The credit and debit card spending figures, based on the BOE’s interbank payment flows, are not seasonally adjusted or adjusted for inflation, which was above 10 per cent in January. REUTERS