Latest ONS figures show redundancy rate fell from 21,000 to 18,000 over the quarter to September

The number of redundancies in construction has fallen again to 18,000 for the third quarter of the year, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics.

Redundancies in July to September fell to 18,000 over the three months, from 21,000 the previous quarter. The redundancy rate has fallen steadily since its high of 38,000 in July to September 2009.

For those who lose their jobs, however, the number of vacancies remained very low with just 0.7 jobs available per 100 employees in the period August to October. Only public administration, defence and compulsory social security as a sector had a lower vacancy rate.

Average weekly earnings in September increased by £1 during the month, growing from £532 to £533.

In September the ONS revealed that there were 53,000 more jobs in the quarter to June, with the total rising to 2.1m, the first time it has risen significantly since the third quarter of 2008.

Just as construction growth has powered GDP growth over the last two quarters, the sector contributed the greatest number of new jobs to the economy. Over the quarter, there were 71,000 more workforce jobs in the economy bringing the total to 30.80m.

The workforce figures for the three months to September will be released next month.

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