- Employment figures exceed pre-pandemic levels
- But vacancies hit new record
- easyJet recovery slower than expected but outlook positive
Situations vacant
The UK labour market is turning into a conundrum all of its own. The latest statistics from the market suggest it is in rude health with the number of people in employment rising above 29 million and unemployment down to 4.5 per cent in the three months to August, edging down from 4.6 per cent at the previous reading. With 29.2m people on company payrolls this figure has finally risen above pre-pandemic levels.
But the twist is that vacancies in the jobs market continue to soar - hardly surprising given the noise around lack of labour in various supply chains in the economy. Total job vacancies rose to 1.1m in the July to September period, more than 300,000 ahead of where this figure stood in the January to March 2020 pre-pandemic period.
Wages are still growing, which is a relief given the current direction of travel of inflation, but the rate of wage growth is slowing - regular pay grew by 6 per cent on average in the June to August period, down from 6.8 per cent in the previous quarter with total pay including bonuses up 7.2 per cent against 8.3 per cent previously. The next few months promise to be a crucial period as a huge number of workers who were furloughed could potentially come into the jobs market which may have the effect of softening wage growth further as inflation continues to rise. GD
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EasyJet forecasts better times ahead
Brits’ desperation for a holiday has not yet outweighed the challenges of going abroad. Government restrictions, including an unfathomably pointless testing regime, have dampened what some airlines had expected to be a solid bounce back in 2021. EasyJet (EZY) has just reported that it flew 17.3m seats in the year to September - 58 per cent of 2019 capacity.
But recovery is underway and having raised £1.2bn in a recent rights issue, the company should be able to hang on until normal operations are restored. EasyJet has seen an uptick in demand since the government decided it would stop forcing those returning to the UK to buy a hugely expensive PCR test to take on the second day and the NHS lateral flow test would do. First quarter volumes are expected to be at 70 per cent of 2019 levels, helped by a surge in half-term trips to Europe.
EasyJet was the second largest airline operating in Europe over the summer which puts it in a good position to pick up new business from airlines which don’t have the financial firepower to get going again. That means that the company should be ok even if overall passenger numbers never return to pre-pandemic levels. Whether that justifies a share price rise of 50 per cent in the last year is another matter. MB
Study for new Greatland Gold mine triggers selloff
Greatland Gold (GGP) shareholders sent its share price down on Tuesday on the release of its long-awaited prefeasibility study for the Havieron gold project in Western Australia. The company stressed the study - which looks at the costs, scope and internal rate of return of a possible mine - was for the project’s first stage, with expansion to come once cash flow has started. The study found a total spend of $381m (£280m) would see 160,000 ounces (oz) of gold and 16,000 tonnes (t) of copper produced annually. The cost is far lower than many mine builds because the ore will be trucked to an existing processing plant.
Greatland is working on Havieron with major goldminer Newcrest Mining (Aus:NCM), and will hold a 30 per cent stake when the operation hits production, so its share of the initial spend is $73m. The company hit a £1bn market capitalisation last year on the back of the Havieron discovery, although it has fallen off this year. Its share price climbed last week on the company’s announcement the study would arrive this week, and then fell 10 per cent on Tuesday morning to 18.7p. AH
