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| Zero-hours contracts rise to 903,000 workers | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The number of people saying they are on zero-hours contracts has risen, according to official figures. | |
| The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there were about 903,000 people whose main job did not guarantee a minimum number of hours between April and June. | The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there were about 903,000 people whose main job did not guarantee a minimum number of hours between April and June. |
| That's up 21% from the figure of 747,000 for the same period last year. | That's up 21% from the figure of 747,000 for the same period last year. |
| It means that 2.9% of people in employment are on such contracts, compared with 2.4% last year. | It means that 2.9% of people in employment are on such contracts, compared with 2.4% last year. |
| Shops, hotels and care homes are among the businesses that use zero-hours contracts. | |
| Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: "If you don't know how much work you will have from one day to the next, paying the bills and arranging things like childcare can be a nightmare." | |
| The Resolution Foundation said some workers favoured the flexibility, but the think tank called on the government to provide more help for people with insecure working conditions. | |
| A Department for Business spokesman that almost 70% of workers on zero-hours contracts were happy with the number of hours they work. | |
| The ONS releases this data twice a year - the figure for October to December 2015 showed that about 801,000 people were on zero-hours contracts. | |
| However, that figure is not comparable with the latest number because it is likely that the use of such contracts is affected by the time of year. | However, that figure is not comparable with the latest number because it is likely that the use of such contracts is affected by the time of year. |
| The ONS usually also releases a figure based on a business survey, indicating how many zero-hours contracts have been issued for work done over a particular period. | |
| Last November there were 1.7 million such contracts, but the ONS has had a data collection problem this time and so has delayed the updating of this figure. | |
| Big survey | Big survey |
| The figure for the number of people saying their main job is on a zero-hours contract comes from the Labour Force Survey, in which the ONS speaks to about 40,000 households every quarter. | |
| As it is based on people's responses, it is sensitive to whether people are aware that they are on zero-hours contracts. | |
| The ONS warns that the figures may have been influenced by greater awareness of the contracts, although it could not quantify how much of an effect there had been. | |
| Because the figures are based on a survey, even a very large survey, they are not precise figures. | Because the figures are based on a survey, even a very large survey, they are not precise figures. |
| The ONS is 95% confident that the figure of 903,000 is right within plus or minus 68,000. That means the rise of 156,000 is statistically significant. | The ONS is 95% confident that the figure of 903,000 is right within plus or minus 68,000. That means the rise of 156,000 is statistically significant. |