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Advantages and Disadvantages of full-time and part-time wor

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Advantages and Disadvantages of full-time and part-time wor

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While each state may have a different definition, part-time jobs can be any position that requires you to work 35 hours a week or less. While there are many reasons why some people may prefer part-time work, like flexibility in scheduling, more free time for studies or another job, part-time work isn't always the best solution. Part-time work offers both advantages and disadvantages to employers and employees alike.

For workers, flexibility is the key advantage of part-time jobs. Because they work less than a full-time day, they still have time to attend school, recover from an illness, care for family members, volunteer at worthy causes or work at another job for extra income. Those working less than half a day have the choice to work mornings, afternoons or evenings in establishments with longer hours. During busy periods, such as around the Christmas holidays at retailers, part-timers may be called upon to work longer or full-time shifts, which increase their earnings. A worker who shares his position with others in the same job knows that if he gets sick or needs to take a vacation, others can do his work.

Part-time workers usually do not receive benefits such as health insurance, sick leave, holiday pay or vacations. When they are not working, they earn no income, which may prove detrimental during sudden illnesses or if they need to take a break. When times are bad, they are typically laid off before full-timers, because they have less time on the job and do not have the expertise of full-time workers. Part-timers may not be promoted as quickly as regular employees, if at all.

The chief advantage for employers instituting part-time work is the lower employment cost since they do not have to provide insurance, sick leave and vacations. They can request more hours of employees during busy times and cut back on hours when business is slow, without having to worry about hiring new workers or letting go of existing ones. Breaks and vacations for one worker can automatically be covered by another part-time worker by staggering their job hours. Part-timers also count, for far less cost, when meeting affirmative action goals mandated by the law or government contracts. Two part-timers may provide a wider set of skills than one person could.

Administrative costs for part-timers may prove higher because employers must process paperwork and provide more management oversight than what one worker entails. Part-timers have neither the experience nor the same security that a full-time worker brings. Consistency of performance may be more difficult when more than one person works at the same task. Part-timers are more inclined to leave when offered full-time work or higher salaries elsewhere. They may work more than one job in a day, making it difficult to change their schedules and making them prone to exhaustion more quickly and more often.

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Advantages & Disadvantages of Part-Time Jobs

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Advantages & Disadvantages of Part-Time Jobs. Part-time jobs are 35 hours a week or fewer, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The primary reasons for obtaining such employment are because workers are in school or training, have family or personal obligations, or are retired or receiving income from ...

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Business case studies organised by curriculum topic | Business Case Studies

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Below is a list of case studies from Business Case Studies organised by Topic. Choose your sub topic by clicking the arrowed links below your selected business studies topic heading.

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Stress at work is ‘causing’ poor mental health in men

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A survey of 15,000 people by charity Mind suggests that men are less likely to ask for help or take time off when problems arise.

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Will there be Skills Shortages after Brexit?

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Will there be Skills Shortages after Brexit?

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Small firms have raised fresh concerns about the impact of Brexit on employing EU workers.

Research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found two-thirds of small Scottish firms with EU staff were worried about future skills shortages.

A total of 37% said they would consider reducing operations if Brexit led to extra barriers on hiring EU citizens.

Almost a fifth said they might close their business, while 12% would consider moving their business abroad.

FSB said EU workers helped to plug chronic skills gaps across a range of sectors.

The UK-wide research found 26% of Scottish small employers currently had a member of staff from elsewhere in the EU, with this figure rising to 41% in the Highlands.

By comparison, about a fifth of UK firms employed an EU worker.

Almost 90% of those surveyed said they had recruited their EU staff when they were already living in the UK.

The vast majority of UK respondents (95%) said they had no experience of using the UK's points-based immigration system to recruit non-EU workers.

'Real concern'

FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: "There is real concern among small firms with EU staff that they will lose access to the skills and labour their business needs to survive and grow.

"EU workers are a vital part of our economy, helping to plug chronic skills gaps across a wide range of sectors, and filling jobs in an already tight labour market.

"From packers, to mechanics, to graphic designers, small employers need to be able to hire the right person, for the right job at the right time."

Scottish policy convener Andy Willox said: "Our data shows that our members predominantly recruit non-UK EU citizens because they're the best candidates.

"If our immigration system is set to change, then our skills system needs to do the same."

The survey included responses from 577 Scottish respondents between 31 March and 12 April.

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Small firms have raised fresh concerns about the impact of Brexit on employing EU workers. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found two-thirds of small Scottish firms with EU staff were worried about future skills shortages. A total of 37% said they would consider reducing operations if Brexit led to extra barriers on hiring EU citizens.

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Agency worker's rights | Acas advice and guidance | Acas

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Some agency workers are classed as employees. Employees are employed under a contract of service (or contract of employment). They have all the rights workers have plus others, such as being paid if work isn't available. However employees also have more obligations to the agency than workers.

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Zero-hours contracts are a tyranny that must end now | the big issue

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This iniquitous method of employing people is the free market gone mad

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Zero Hours contracts are used by Business to dodge paying tax

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Zero Hours contracts are used by Business to dodge paying tax

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Could you live on a zero-hours contract? David Cameron was forced to admit, during his grilling by Jeremy Paxman, that he couldn't. But 1.4 million Britons do. Some out of choice, some through necessity. But the latest attempts by the main parties to tackle the injustices of zero-hours contracts fail to get to the heart of the problem - which has nothing to do with a need for 'flexibility' and everything to do with dodging tax.

Many of us might be horrified at the thought of not knowing when our next pay cheque will be coming and how much it will be, but large numbers of people on zero-hours contracts are perfectly happy without that job security.
Surveys have repeatedly revealed that the majority of people on zero hours contracts don't believe they are being exploited by nasty bosses. Many students, mothers with young children, retirees and others say they enjoy the flexibility as much as their employers do to say 'No' to work when it doesn't suit them, without any penalty.

However, not all zero hours contracts are the same. The coalition government, led by Business Secretary Vince Cable, was right to ban exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts, a move which will help 125,000 workers (roughly 10 per cent of the current zero-hours workforce) who have been banned from taking work elsewhere while being given no guarantee of work by their supposed main employer. Now Labour leader Ed Miliband wants to go further and to ensure that anyone on a zero-hours contract is automatically entitled to a regular contract after three months.

On the face of it, this sounds like a good idea, offering protection from unscrupulous employers, but all it will mean is employers ending their contracts after 90 days to avoid that entitlement.That's because politicians fail to understand what really lies behind the explosion in zero-hours contracts.
We are told that the growth of these contracts is about employers wanting flexibility to cope with seasonal changes in customer demand and, in times of economic uncertainty, an opportunity to hire more staff without worrying about the costs of making them redundant if the economy takes another downturn.

But that's not entirely true. For a start, much of the growth in zero hours contracts has been in the care home sector, where there is absolutely no seasonal fluctuation at all and, with an ageing population, little chance of demand dropping off any time soon. Another major area of growth has been in the retail sector where, admittedly, there is some seasonal fluctuation around the sales, but not nearly enough to justify the way some major firms are using zero-hours contracts.

A growing list of high street chains - from JD Wetherspoons to Burger King, Domino's Pizza, and McDonald's - are now effectively using zero-hours contracts as their default contract for new staff. And Sports clothing retailer, Sports Direct, is reported to employ an extraordinary 90 per cent of its staff on zero-hours contracts, suggesting that sports clothing must have one heck of a seasonal fluctuation. Meanwhile, Argos, Homebase and Tesco, along with many other household names, have all been accused of exploiting their staff by splitting previously full-time jobs into a number of separate part-time jobs, guaranteeing only a few hours of work a week.

And this is where we get to the truth. Because not only does an employer enjoy far lower bills for holiday and sick pay entitlements, as well as pension contributions, for zero hours and part-time employers, they enjoy other benefits too. The employer's National Insurance contribution liability doesn't kick in until an employee earns £156 or more per week, so many companies now ensure they limit employees' hours to below that threshold. When extra hours are available, instead of offering more hours to existing part-time staff, some of whom are desperate for full-time work, these companies simply hire more zero-hours or part-time staff.

This is all perfectly legal, of course, but in a competitive market where businesses have to keep their costs down, it means that more and more companies will have to go down the same route to be able to compete on an even playing field.

If Ed Miliband or David Cameron really want to tackle the dark side of zero hours contracts, they should pledge to impose a legal limit on the percentage of staff that any company can employ on zero hours contracts. That maximum should not exceed 10 or 20 per cent, which allows ample room for flexibility. After all, when companies pay less in tax and NICS, the Treasury loses out on vital funds. And when people can't get the full-time work and job security they want, it is taxpayers who end up footing the bill for their tax credits and housing benefit to make ends meet. That means less money going in to Treasury coffers and more money going out.

Most of us, like David Cameron, may not think we could live on a zero-hours contract but, unless something is done to limit them, we may find that we won't get the choice.

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Zero-hours contracts have nothing to do with flexibility and everything to do with dodging tax | Coffee House

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Could you live on a zero-hours contract? David Cameron was forced to admit, during his grilling by Jeremy Paxman, that he couldn't. But 1.4 million Britons do. Some out of choice, some through necessity.

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Ed Miliband has vowed that a Labour government would give employees on "exploitative" zero-hours contracts the legal right to a regular contract after they have worked 12 weeks of regular hours.

Q: What are zero-hours contracts?

A: Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work.

They mean employees work only when they are needed by employers, often at short notice. Their pay depends on how many hours they work.

Some zero-hours contracts require workers to take the shifts they are offered, while others do not.

Sick pay is often not included, although holiday pay should be, in line with working time regulations.

Q: Who is on them?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says that 697,000 people were employed on zero-hours contracts for their main job between October and December 2014, based on figures from the Labour Force Survey. That represents 2.3% of the UK workforce.

This figure is higher than the figure of 586,000 (1.9% of people in employment) reported for the same period in 2013. The ONS said it was unclear how much of the rise was due to greater recognition of the term "zero-hours contracts", rather than new contracts being offered.

The number of contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours was 1.8 million as of August 2014. That was 400,000 more than the previous estimate for January 2014.

The ONS said the differences in the two totals could reflect seasonal factors, because they cover different times of the year.

A survey of employers by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that a third of voluntary sector organisations used zero-hours contracts, along with a quarter of public sector employers and 17% of private sector firms.

A high proportion of staff at companies including retailer Sports Direct, pub chain JD Wetherspoon and cinema operator Cineworld are on zero-hours contracts. They are also used by other employers, including a number of London councils and Buckingham Palace.

Q: Why are they controversial?

A: There is concern that zero-hours contracts do not offer enough financial stability and security.

The ONS found that employees on such a contract worked an average of 25 hours a week.

However, about a third of those on zero-hours contracts want more hours - mostly in their current job - compared with just 10% of other people in employment.

The CIPD research found that 16% of zero-hours workers said their employer often failed to provide them with sufficient hours each week.

The ONS said that zero-hours workers were more likely to be women or in full-time education and aged under 25 or over 65.

Employees on zero-hours contracts also do not have the same employment rights as those on traditional contracts, and critics are concerned that the contracts are being used to avoid employers' responsibilities to employees.

The CIPD warned that employers may also take advantage of zero-hours contracts by using them as a management tool - offering more hours to favoured employees and fewer to those less valued.

Q: Why do employers use them?

Employers say zero-hours contracts allow them to take on staff in response to fluctuating demand for their services, in sectors such as tourism and hospitality.

Employers also say that many workers appreciate the flexibility that a zero-hours contract gives them. Some 38% of workers in the CIPD research described themselves as employed full-time, working 30 hours or more a week, despite being on zero hours.

Michael Burd, joint head of employment at the law firm Lewis Silkin, says the majority of employers use zero-hour contracts, not to avoid giving employees their rights, but to avoid paying fixed overheads and give them flexibility over their workforce.

He points out that this flexibility is envied by employers in struggling economies such as Spain and Greece, where potential costs may dissuade employers from taking on staff.

The Institute of Directors has voiced concern about Labour's proposed policy, saying the changes would be unnecessary and potentially damaging.

Christian May, head of communications and campaigns, said: "Limiting the use of a zero-hours contract to just 12 weeks would apply rigid controls on an important element of our flexible labour market. They are used by a little over 2% of workers, which can hardly be described as an epidemic. Nobody supports the misuse of these contracts, but demonising and ultimately outlawing them will simply risk jobs."

Simon Rice-Birchall, partner at law firm Eversheds, said it was not clear how the proposed new right would apply, given that Labour refers to "employees" rather than "workers".

"Many staff on zero-hours contracts are workers and do not have full employment status. In addition, depending how the change in the law is drafted, there is a risk that some employers may simply offer contracts with minimal fixed hours to limit its impact," he said.

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Ed Miliband has vowed that a Labour government would give employees on "exploitative" zero-hours contracts the legal right to a regular contract after they have worked 12 weeks of regular hours. A: Zero-hours contracts, or casual contracts, allow employers to hire staff with no guarantee of work.

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Sorry, your browser is not supported.

The UK is still lagging behind leading countries at education and has made little progress in international rankings since results three years ago.

The influential Pisa rankings, run by the OECD, are based on tests taken by 15-year-olds in over 70 countries.

The UK is behind top performers such as Singapore and Finland, but also trails Vietnam, Poland and Estonia.

The OECD's education director, Andreas Schleicher, describes the UK's results as "flat in a changing world".

In maths, the UK is ranked 27th, slipping down a place from three years ago, the lowest since it began participating in the Pisa tests in 2000

In reading, the UK is ranked 22nd, up from 23rd, having fallen out of the top 20 in 2006

The UK's most successful subject is science, up from 21st to 15th place - the highest placing since 2006, although the test score has declined

After the last round of rankings, published in 2013, there were warnings from ministers in England that results were "stagnating" - and reforms were promised to match international rivals.

But Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, warned that the results showed "a lost decade" in which the government had pursued an "obsession" with structural change which had "little impact on either standards or equity".

Nick Gibb, England's School Standards Minister, described the results as a "useful insight" and showed the need to "make more good school places available" in grammar schools.

He announced £12m to support professional training for science teaching.

But Professor Stephen Gorard from Durham University said the evidence of the results did not support claims that academic selection would boost overall performance.
What is Pisa? In three sentences
The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) provides education rankings based on international tests taken by 15-year-olds in maths, reading and science.

The tests, run by the OECD and taken every three years, have become increasingly influential on politicians who see their countries and their policies being measured against these global school league tables.

The UK has remained among the mid-table performers, with Singapore rated at the top and most of the highest places taken by Asian education systems.

Within the devolved UK education systems, Wales had the lowest results at every subject.

Mr Schleicher said reforms in Wales had yet to make an impact and it was too early see if they would be successful.

At present Wales' performance in reading puts it only a few places above parts of the UAE, Argentina and Colombia.

Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said: "We can all agree we are not yet where we want to be."

But she said that "hard work is underway" to make improvements in Wales - and that it was important to "stay the course".

Dylan William, of the UCL Institute of Education, urged caution on the results for Wales - saying changes took a long time to filter through and it could be another decade before rankings would reflect what was happening in today's classrooms.

England had the strongest results in the UK, but compared with previous years, Mr Schleicher said "performance hasn't moved at all".

The OECD education chief highlighted concerns about the impact of teacher shortages - saying that an education system could never exceed the quality of its teachers.

"There is clearly a perceived shortage," he said, warning that head teachers saw a teacher shortage as "a major bottleneck" to raising standards.

The National Union of Teachers said the Pisa survey showed the "government is failing in one of its key responsibilities - to ensure that there are enough teachers in the system".

Scotland trails behind England and Northern Ireland - recording its worst results in these Pisa rankings.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the "results underline the case for radical reform of Scotland's education system".

He said he would push for reforms to improve schools "no matter how controversial".

Northern Ireland is behind England, but ahead of Scotland and Wales.

Education minister Peter Weir said "performance has not shown any significant improvement" but he wanted to understand how these results for secondary schools could be explained when another set of results had shown Northern Ireland's primary pupils among the highest achievers for maths.

But the overall highest performer is Singapore, with the Asian country coming top in science, maths and reading.

At the top of the table, Singapore has replaced Shanghai as the highest-ranked education system.

Shanghai no longer appears as a separate entry, with the city's results now part of a wider set of four Chinese regions.

This entry for China is in the top 10 for maths and science, but not in the top 20 for reading.

The education systems in Hong Kong and Macao are also among the highest achievers.

Along with regular high achievers such as Singapore, Finland, Hong Kong and Japan, there are strong performances from Estonia, Canada and Vietnam.

But the upper reaches of the rankings are dominated by East Asian countries, with Finland, Estonia, Canada and Ireland the only non-Asian countries to get into any of the top fives.

Ty Goddard, of the Education Foundation, said the results for the UK were an "important snapshot of education achievement" - and they should not be used as an "excuse to have a national 'bash a teacher' day".

Brett Wigdortz, chief executive of Teach First, said: "It's very much a 'must try harder' for the UK. We're doing slightly better than the average, but our score has hardly moved compared to three years ago."
So why is Singapore so successful at education?
Singapore only became an independent country in 1965.

And while in the UK the Beatles were singing We Can Work It Out, in Singapore they were really having to work it out, as this new nation had a poor, unskilled, mostly illiterate workforce.

The small Asian country focused relentlessly on education as a way of developing its economy and raising living standards.

And from being among the world's poorest, with a mix of ethnicities, religions and languages, Singapore has overtaken the wealthiest countries in Europe, North America and Asia to become the number one in education.

Prof Sing Kong Lee, vice-president of Nanyang Technological University, which houses Singapore's National Institute of Education, said a key factor had been the standard of teaching.

"Singapore invested heavily in a quality teaching force - to raise up the prestige and status of teaching and to attract the best graduates," said Prof Lee.

The country recruits its teachers from the top 5% of graduates in a system that is highly centralised.

All teachers are trained at the National Institute of Education, and Prof Lee said this single route ensured quality control and that all new teachers could "confidently go through to the classroom".

This had to be a consistent, long-term approach, sustained over decades, said Prof Lee. Education was an "eco-system", he said, and "you can't change one part in isolation".
Charts and interactive map produced by Ed Lowther, Joy Roxas, Joe Reed, and James Dooley.

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Sorry, your browser is not supported. The UK is still lagging behind leading countries at education and has made little progress in international rankings since results three years ago. The influential Pisa rankings, run by the OECD, are based on tests taken by 15-year-olds in over 70 countries.

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What's wrong with Global Labour Markets?

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What's wrong with Global Labour Markets?

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What's wrong with the world's labour markets?

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Around the world, labor markets are in disarray. Unemployment is high in many countries, especially among the young. At the same time, many companies report having trouble finding qualifi...

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Top Three Trends for the Global Labour Market in 2016

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Top Three Trends for the Global Labour Market in 2016

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Carrie Lennard, Business Environment Manager at Euromonitor shares the top three trends for the global labour market for 2016. In developed markets, average unemployment rates will reach their lowest levels since 2008, although markets such as Greece and Spain will still struggle. Automation will play a large role in 2016, and is concentrated mostly in Asia and Australia at the moment. Labour forces in emerging markets are changing as well, shifting away from primary industries to tertiary industries.

Watch video on YouTube

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Top Three Trends for the Global Labour Market in 2016

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Carrie Lennard, Business Environment Manager at Euromonitor shares the top three trends for the global labour market for 2016. In developed markets, average unemployment rates will reach their lowest levels since 2008, although markets such as Greece and Spain will still struggle.

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The impact of globalisation on human resource planning

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The impact of globalisation on human resource planning

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Among Jakartans grappling with air pollution, use of masks is an increasingly common sight. Credit Credit Kemal Jufri for The New York Times

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The young woman sat on a bench at a bus terminal here one recent morning, listening to her iPod beneath a bright blue sky. But despite the sunshine and a light breeze, the woman, Fety Dwiyanti, wore a face mask. She did not have the flu or a cold, though, she was just worried about what was getting into her lungs.

"It's because of the air pollution and dust," she said. "Every time I go outside, I put it on."

Jakarta, a sprawling city of 10 million, has long had a problem with air pollution. To address it, the city phased out the use of leaded gasoline 10 years ago, among other measures. But as the economy has grown at a rapid clip over the last decade, the number of vehicles in the capital has soared, with more people able to afford them. And air quality has gotten worse.

That has led to a strange development: a rise in the number of "blue sky days" - when the air is clear enough to allow views of the lush mountains of nearby West Java - along with higher pollution levels.

"When we see the sky is blue, it's just one indicator that air quality is good, and not really an accurate one," said Dasrul Chaniago, director of pollution control and environmental damage at the environment and forestry ministry. The ministry estimates that at least 70 percent of Jakarta air pollution is from vehicles.

The main peril to public health is from fine particle pollution - measuring 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller and found in, among other things, auto emissions - that can sneak into people's nasal passages and lungs. Such pollution particles are significantly smaller than mold spores, pollens or typical atmospheric dust.

"Car emissions are better," said Agnes J. Safford, who heads GreenWorks Asia, a Jakarta-based environmental consultancy. "But you're getting more fine particles because there are more cars. So it looks clearer, but it's not better."

Jakarta has never been viewed as one of Asia's most livable cities. Imagine Los Angeles on a bad day, but with more smog and bumper-to-bumper traffic.

While pollution here does not compare to the dire levels in cities like Beijing and New Delhi, it is serious enough for the State Department to have put Jakarta on a priority list of American Embassies to be fitted with air quality monitors this year. The American Embassies in Beijing and New Delhi already have the monitors; results posted online garner intense interest.

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A street vendor in Jakarta offered an array of face masks. Credit Kemal Jufri for The New York Times

More Jakarta residents are suffering the physical effects of dirtier air, experts say. A study by the University of Indonesia Faculty of Public Health found that 58 percent of all illnesses among people living in the city were related to air pollution as of 2011, up from 35 percent a decade earlier. And the problem is thought to have gotten worse since the study was done..

The conditions include asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, said Dr. Budi Haryanto, chairman of the university's Department of Environmental Health, which carried out the study

Dr. Budi said that nationwide, air pollution causes 2.8 million lost work days a year, along with 1.3 million absences at schools, 9,000 hospitalizations and at least 6,500 premature deaths. "And we can say there's an increase in disease in all Indonesian cities. There's an increase in pollutants everywhere."

Jakarta accounts for around 40 percent of all auto sales in Indonesia; more than 480,000 new cars hit the capital's streets in 2014 in addition to 1.4 million new motorcycles, according to the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers.

"Indonesia lags more than five years behind its neighbors, including Thailand and China, in fuel quality standards," said Michael Dunne, who runs an automotive consultancy firm based in Hong Kong and has worked extensively in Indonesia.

"Junk fuel in, junk exhaust out, no matter how good the engine might be," he said.

Still, there are signs that the government is tackling the problem. For instance, it is mandating that the auto sector improve emission standards on new vehicles to meet European levels starting in 2017.

In Jakarta, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Council collects data from eight monitoring stations across the city to measure air quality minute by minute. The agency also deploys vans with air monitoring equipment to take measurements in specific locations.

Experts say it will take long-term projects to improve Jakarta's air quality, like the continuing construction of a mass transit system that officials hope will reduce the number of drivers on the streets and highways. Another project involves the city government buying land to create more green spaces.

In the meantime, Jakartans who wear face masks are an increasingly common sight.

Fina Chrisnantari, 30, an assistant in an office management company, says she will continue to wear a mask to and from work. She has been wearing one for about a year. "I'm not sure how much it helps," she said as she waited for a bus in downtown Jakarta. "A few days after being out, you can still feel it in your lungs."

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: As Indonesia Prospers, Air Pollution Takes Toll . Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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As Indonesia Prospers, Air Pollution Takes Toll

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JAKARTA, Indonesia - The young woman sat on a bench at a bus terminal here one recent morning, listening to her iPod beneath a bright blue sky. But despite the sunshine and a light breeze, the woman, Fety Dwiyanti, wore a face mask.

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The CBI is the UK's premier business organisation, providing a voice for firms at a regional, national and international level to policymakers. Our purpose - helping business create a more prosperous society.

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Labour market overview, UK Statistical bulletins

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The US economy added a stronger-than-expected 255,000 jobs in July, fuelling speculation that interest rates could rise before the end of the year.

The figure was below June's upwardly revised figure of 292,000 jobs, but was far higher than analysts' forecasts of between 175,000 and 180,000.

The US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%.

Dennis de Jong from UFX.com said July's figure reveals a "strong but not spectacular US economy".

He said the number "represents more of a return to the form of the first six months of the year".

The US Fed recently signalled that it was on course to increase interest rates this year as "near-term risks" such slowing employment receded.

However, subsequent data revealed that the US economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the second quarter of the year.

'Steady improvement'

The Fed's next policy meeting is due in September, but analysts think they could wait until later in the year to take any action.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit, said: "The steady job market improvement and keeps alive the possibility of the Fed hiking rates again this year, but worries about sluggish economic growth and deteriorating productivity, as well as uncertainty created by the presidential election, suggests that any tightening of policy will be delayed until December."

Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae in Washington, said: "It shows the economy from a labour perspective is heading in the direction that the Fed wants. It gives the Fed some support for those looking an increase in rate by the end of year.

He added: "The Fed is still watching international development. The Bank of England made a pretty strong move this week, but the UK data so far don't suggest a strong downdraft with Brexit. A lot could still occur with European banks."

The largest growth in US employment - some 70,000 new jobs - came from professional and business sectors, in particular computing.

The healthcare industry also recruited heavily, taking on an additional 43,000 staff last month.

Mining companies recorded the biggest fall in new jobs, down by 6,000, and since reaching a peak in September 2014 employment in the sector has declined by 26%.

Wage worries

Average hourly pay also rose, up 0.3% between June and July, against a forecast of a 0.2% rise. In the 12 months to July, pay increased by 2.6%, which was the same annual rate of growth as in June.

Wage stagnation has been an issue closely watched by the Fed and commented on in the presidential election.

A survey by CareerBuilder and Emsi Research released on Friday, suggested that over the next five years the number of middle-income jobs created could slow down, while low and high paying jobs are added to the market.

The research found high-wage and low-wage jobs were both expected to grow by 5%, but the number of middle-income jobs was expected to rise by just 3%.

Sixty one per cent of the occupations expected to lose jobs over the next five years are middle-income jobs.

Trade deficit

While jobs data was lifting markets, investors also learned that the US trade deficit had widened to its largest position in 10 months.

The gap was driven by increasing oil imports and expanding orders of Chinese-made computers, mobile phones and clothing.

The Commerce Department reported that the deficit widened in June by 8.7% to $44.5bn (£31bn), up from the revised May figure of $41bn.

The US trade deficit drags on national growth because it means US companies are selling less overseas.

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The US economy added a stronger-than-expected 255,000 jobs in July, fuelling speculation that interest rates could rise before the end of the year. The figure was below June's upwardly revised figure of 292,000 jobs, but was far higher than analysts' forecasts of between 175,000 and 180,000. The US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%.

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What were the factors influencing the UK Labour Market in 2015?

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What were the factors influencing the UK Labour Market in 2015?

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Just ahead of the Budget, the latest jobs figures for the UK may look like a mixed bag but it's roughly the same picture since the recovery: stronger job growth, weaker wage increases. As such, there's something for everyone to latch onto.

First, the most eye catching figure is that employment is at a record high 73.3% - 22.64 million is the most people in work since comparable records were collected in 1971. But, there's 8.3 million people working part-time, and that's an increase of 137,000 from a year ago.

Some time ago, I attended a lecture by a US president who was touting the number of jobs that his administration has created. Someone in the audience stood up and said: yes, it's true, and she had three of them and still couldn't afford to pay her bills.

The unemployment rate remains unchanged at 5.7%, which is the lowest since 2008. That's something to cheer about, since the jobless rate is moving back toward what it had been before the crash, of around 5%.

It's one of the strengths about the British labour market versus the continent where unemployment does not tend to decline back to pre-recession levels.

However, the number of economically inactive (those who are not seeking or available for work) has risen by 14,000 from a year ago, though it's slightly down on the quarter. Fewer people looking can reduce the jobless rate since these people drop out of the workforce.

Currency fluctuations

But, this is a small increase. More notably, the expectation of economists that inform market expectations was that the jobless rate would fall to 5.6%, so that's contributed to a plunge of the pound to a 5 year low.

A weak sterling isn't necessarily negative. But, any dramatic fall in a currency reflects market disappointment.

And that brings me to the important point about incomes. Average wages, excluding bonuses, rose by 1.6% (it's 1.8% including bonuses).

It's a continuation of the recent welcome trend of rising real wages - though that has had a lot to do with very low inflation of just 0.3%. And even then, it's rather weak income growth six years into a recovery.

Plus, economists were expecting stronger wage growth of 2.2%. So, that's also why sterling took a tumble.

Productivity puzzle

This is the same combination of good job growth but weak wages that's been a trait of this recession, and I've written about the UK productivity puzzle before.

Wages reflect output per worker (which is the measure of labour productivity) so weak productivity tends to be associated with lower wages.

Research by the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE emphasises that more investment is needed in not just capital but innovation that can raise productivity.

They suggest policies to improve firms' access to finance, information, and expertise. Like others, they are not opposed to some industrial policy. That's where a weak sterling could help.

Coming back to the labour market statistics - there's something there for everyone to claim as the success/failure of the government.

You'll have seen the claims and counter-claims already. There's no doubt that there's a general election around the corner.

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Just ahead of the Budget, the latest jobs figures for the UK may look like a mixed bag but it's roughly the same picture since the recovery: stronger job growth, weaker wage increases. As such, there's something for everyone to latch onto.

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The Real Economy: Labour Market

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What is the state of Britain's labour market?

Today presenter Evan Davis reports on a "far more flexible" system that has allowed us to "share the pain" and preserve UK jobs.

Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.

Story Tools

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What is the state of Britain's labour market? Today presenter Evan Davis reports on a "far more flexible" system that has allowed us to "share the pain" and preserve UK jobs. Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844. Story Tools