The number of people in work in the UK has reached a record high of 32.54 million, 75.8 % shown by latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show. Unemployment was flat, with a small increase of 8,000 between September and November for a total of 1.37 million.

Average earnings excluding bonuses increased by 3.3% in the year to November, as wage rises continued to outpace inflation .The number of people working grew again, with the share of the population in work now the highest on record and wage growth is outpacing inflation and the share of the work force looking for work is the lowest for 40 years. 

The unemployment total is 68,000 lower than a year ago, with the jobless rate 0.2% down on this time in 2018. The number of job vacancies rose by 10,000 to a record high of 853,000.

Ken Hind former M P, Longridge Councillor and Conservative Campaign Co-ordinator commented '' This shows the economy as far as employment is concerned is at its strongest for many years and with wage growth and people in work shows that the public  are sharing the benefits in the improvements in the economy brought about by difficult decisions made over the last few years.''

Figures for the Ribble Valley Parliamentary consitutuency  for December show that unemployment in the Ribble Valley has decreased since 2010 with 450 more people in work,  a reduction of 43% over the period. The refocusing of the Ribble Valley Borough Council to drive the local economy to attract more businesses and create more jobs will help this process  in the years to come. There are still 600 people in the Ribble Valley seeking employment and there is still a job to be done.