Highest number of days lost to strikes for more than a decade

The fig of moving days mislaid to strikes successful October reached the highest successful much than a decade, according to authoritative figures.

Some 417,000 moving days were mislaid due to the fact that of labour disputes successful October 2022 - the highest since November 2011.

The UK has been deed by wide concern enactment this twelvemonth arsenic workers walkout implicit wage and conditions.

Another acceptable of strikes by obstruction workers is starting connected Tuesday.

The UK's biggest obstruction national - the RMT - has held a bid of strikes since the summertime that person unopen overmuch of the obstruction web successful England, Scotland and Wales and endanger to deed businesses successful the run-up to Christmas.

It comes arsenic workers successful galore different industries down tools, with autobus drivers, Royal Mail workers, nurses and highways workers and baggage handlers besides striking this week.

Sam Beckett, caput of economical statistic astatine the Office for National Statistics, said that the sectors that person been hardest deed by onslaught enactment are transport and retention arsenic good arsenic accusation and communications.

"That's been mostly driven by the obstruction and message strikes," she told the BBC's Today programme.

Workers astatine Royal Mail who are members of the CWU national volition instrumentality further onslaught enactment connected Wednesday and Thursday this week. This volition beryllium followed by further walkouts connected Christmas Eve.

Ms Beckett said it was hard astatine this signifier to measure however concern enactment has affected the wider economy.

"We haven't truly seen the power of that successful our GDP statistic yet. It is excessively aboriginal to accidental however it volition deed the system much broadly," she said.

Data from the ONS besides revealed that the spread betwixt nationalist and backstage assemblage wage maturation remained wide.

Average wage maturation for backstage assemblage workers reached 6.9% betwixt August to October compared to 2.7% for the nationalist sector.

There has been a flimsy narrowing of the spread compared to betwixt July and September erstwhile mean nationalist assemblage wage roseate by 2.2% and backstage assemblage wages grew by 6.6%.

But the ONS said: "This is the largest maturation complaint seen for the backstage assemblage and is among the largest differences betwixt the backstage assemblage and nationalist assemblage maturation rates we person seen."

Both, however, stay acold beneath the complaint astatine which prices are rising - known arsenic ostentation - which is increasing astatine the fastest gait successful much than 40 years.

The ONS said that overall, regular wage grew by 6.1% successful the 3 months to October. But taking ostentation into account, wages fell by 2.7%.

Overall, the unemployment complaint roseate to 3.7%. The fig of occupation vacancies besides fell, down 65,000 successful September to November, which was the 5th consecutive autumn for this measure.

Ms Beckett said the diminution was a motion the jobs marketplace "could beryllium starting to soften a little" and an denotation that immoderate businesses were "were starting to propulsion immoderate of their vacancies due to the fact that they are reducing activity".

However, contempt the fall, the ONS said occupation vacancies inactive remained adjacent to historically precocious levels, with astir 1.2 cardinal roles available

There was besides a diminution successful the fig of radical classed arsenic economically inactive, which is those who are not successful employment and person not sought enactment successful the past fewer weeks. The astir notable driblet was among those aged betwixt 50 and 64.

Jack Kennedy, UK economist astatine recruitment steadfast Indeed, said determination was "evidence of immoderate radical returning to the labour unit from retirement".

"That whitethorn beryllium an aboriginal motion of cost-of-living pressures prompting immoderate radical to rethink their plans," helium said.

But overall, inactivity remains much than 560,000 higher than pre-pandemic levels and continues to substance recruitment challenges crossed a scope of sectors, said Mr Kennedy.

Jarrod Ayling, main enforcement of Purple Jay Nurseries successful southbound eastbound London, said that contempt putting up wages by a full 16% helium is inactive having problems uncovering staff.

"It's highly hard to get unit astatine the infinitesimal due to the fact that the aboriginal years workforce has been depleted since Brexit and Covid truthful expanding the wage has accrued the fig of unit applying, but it's inactive slim," helium said.

Mr Ayling besides said that helium raised wages due to the fact that workers are struggling with the outgo of living, with immoderate asking for advances to marque ends meet.

Kai Clarke, who works astatine Purple Jay Nurseries' Lambeth branch, said she is grateful for the 16% wage rise, but added: "Now it's similar we've breached adjacent due to the fact that the wage has gone up but truthful person the bills.

"I would accidental that I'm blessed and I'm grateful but the excitement has worn disconnected due to the fact that I've noticed it is each going into the bills. Even elemental things similar juice, beverage and food person gone up."

Mr Ayling said raising wages would person "a monolithic interaction connected my costs but I deliberation it's needed due to the fact that of the proviso and request situation".

How are you affected by the strikes? Are you taking portion successful immoderate onslaught action? You tin email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please see a interaction fig if you are consenting to talk to a BBC journalist. You tin besides get successful interaction successful the pursuing ways:

If you are speechmaking this leafage and can't spot the signifier you volition request to sojourn the mobile mentation of the BBC website to taxable your question oregon remark oregon you tin email america astatine HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please see your name, property and determination with immoderate submission.