London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

UK loses total of 220,000 working days to strike action in January

UK loses total of 220,000 working days to strike action in January

The education sector was most affected by industrial action as teachers staged walkouts. Public sector wage growth continued to lag behind private sector increases but overall, workers continue to experience a real terms pay cut as double digit inflation persisted.

A total of 220,000 working days were lost to strike action in January, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

In the first month of this year, strike action was taken by teachers, rail workers, driving examiners, bus drivers and NHS staff.

The number is down on the 822,000 days lost to strikes in December 2022.


Unemployment remained steady at 3.7%, the same as last month and only a slight increase from a low not seen since 1974. The rate had been expected to increase to 3.8%, economist polled by Reuters forecast.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "The number of working days lost to strikes fell in January from the very high level seen in December. Nevertheless, many days were still lost, with education the most affected sector."

Despite unemployment remaining low, the number of job vacancies fell for the eighth consecutive period by 51,000 to 1.1 million from December to February.

The fall reflects uncertainty across industries, as ONS respondents cited economic pressures as a factor in pausing or refraining from hiring.

Redundancies rose to pre-pandemic levels again. From November to January, the number of people reporting redundancy rose to 3.3 people per thousand employees.

Pay, including bonuses, rose 5.7% from November to January. But despite increased wages, workers are still earning less.


Real pay, including bonuses, fell 3.5% as wage and bonus growth failed to keep up with the increasing cost of goods.

Most recent official figures show inflation stands at 10.1%, meaning people are effectively earning less.

Pay rises differed across the economy and private sector wages continue to surpass public sector wage increases.

Private employers had their pay increased by an average of 7% while public sector workers only had a pay bump of 4.8%.

The numbers of people neither working nor seeking work, the economic inactivity rate, decreased to 21.3% in November 2022 to January 2023, down from 21.4% in the three months up to December. The decrease was driven by people aged 16 to 24.

Coming out of the pandemic the number of people neither working nor seeking work for a range of reasons had risen to more than nine million people, the equivalent of one-in-five working age adults.

Responding to the figures, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: "The jobs market remains strong, but inflation remains too high. To help people's wages go further, we need to stick to our plan to halve inflation this year.

"Tomorrow at the budget, I will set out how we will go further to bear down on inflation, reduce debt and grow the economy, including by helping more people back into work."

Labour's Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Jonathan Ashworth, also commented: "The Tories' abject failure to support people back to work means there are 234,000 fewer people in employment than before the pandemic.

"While other major economies have bounced back, Britain is languishing under the Tories - and families are paying the price.

"Labour is ambitious for Britain and has led the battle of ideas putting forward key welfare reforms to help get Britain back to work. We will support people into work and create good, new jobs across every part of the country."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×