The UK—Country Workforce Profile
by Matt Flynn
January 2010—Despite levels of productivity and GDP growth higher than most of Western Europe, and with 83% of it’s population economically active, the United Kingdom also has one of the highest levels of job vacancies.
Long periods of low unemployment until recently (7.8% as of August 2009), have translated into high labor and skills shortages for employers, according to the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College.
The UK has a higher rate of part-time work than most other EU member states:
- 43% in the United Kingdom compared to the average of 27 European states (31%).
- Despite equal pay laws, the gender pay gap in the UK (21%) remains one the highest in Europe. (EU 27 average is 15%).