People Management Magazine:
Female unemployment grows significantly, with pay still squeezed
22 March 2018
Even so, some in industry have suggested that the latest rise in female unemployment is down to the large number of high street retailers and hospitality businesses closing or restructuring. Guy Michaels, associate professor at the London School of Economics – who described the increase as a “gradual trend rather than a blip” – told People Management that the different sectors men and women work in could leave them exposed to “different industry shocks”…. Overall, experts have been positive towards the latest employment levels. Wage growth however, continues to be a source of concern. Michaels said: “Flexible and precarious work arrangements may flatten employment levels, but the UK’s labour market has held up in the aftermath of the Great Recession. After years of stagnation, both productivity and wages have recently started to rise, which suggest that labour demand is picking up, though slowly. But we are still waiting to see sustained real, inflation-adjusted wage growth.”