ZERO-HOURS contracts are growing, wages are slowing and youth unemployment has hit a four-year high, according to latest labour market data today.

The Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) offical measures of unemployment have shown a jump from from 4 per cent to 4.3 per cent between June and September while payrolled employees have fallen by 43,000 over the same period.

Figures also show growing and persistent youth unemployment, with numbers rising to 13.7 per cent and long-term unemployment among young people growing by a staggering 83 per cent over the last year.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Labour’s Budget took some vital first steps to repair the economic damage left by the Tories — stronger growth is an essential starting point for more jobs and higher pay.

“The government’s plan to Get Britain Working must now focus on supporting young people out of long-term unemployment.

“With long-term youth unemployment now at a post-pandemic high and still rising, young people urgently need genuine opportunities to work or engage in training.

“Acting now can set young people up for a better future.

“The Get Britain Working white paper will also be an important opportunity to provide life-changing health and employment support to people who are economically inactive because of ill health, but who desperately want to work again.”

Those with regular incomes saw wages grow by 4.8 per cent in the three months to September, down from 4.9 per cent in the previous three months, but real wage growth languished at 2.7 per cent when those on irregular incomes were included.

In Britain, those on irregular incomes are more likely to be on zero-hours contracts now than at any time this year, with the number stubbornly remaining over a million for a third consecutive year, and growing by over 10 per cent from 1,033m to 1,134m in the last quarter alone — accounting for 3.4 per cent of all paid workers.

Urging action to curb the growth of zero hours, Mr Nowak added: “Everyone deserves a decent, secure job that they can build a life on.

“But over a million workers are trapped on zero-hours contracts that offer them little or no security — not knowing how much they will earn from one week to the next and unable to plan budgets or childcare.

“A crackdown on these exploitative zero-hours contracts is long overdue.

“Labour’s Employment Rights Bill is a decisive step towards tackling the scourge of insecure work.

“All working people should have a right to a contract that reflects their regular hours of work and reasonable notice of shifts.”

His counterpart at the STUC, Roz Foyer, meanwhile railed at Scotland’s continued dubious honour of once again leading Britain in zero-hours contracts, as the numbers leapt by 30 per cent — representing 102,000 or 3.8 per cent of workers.