By Charles Hipps

Unemployment may be something of a “vanity metric.”

Traditional unemployment figures are binary: you are either working or you aren’t. They fail to capture the depth and longevity of employment.

By design, unemployment rates count people in low-paid service work and on zero-hour contracts as “employed,” even when that work is insecure or inconsistent.

As a result, low unemployment can mask a wider crisis of underemployment, zero-hour contracts, and the growth of the contingent workforce.

There is also a “churn and burn” dynamic in contingent workforce recruitment. Young people are often hired through automated systems into low-security roles, only to leave or be let go within a matter of months.

This churn keeps the unemployment percentage low because individuals are technically being rehired quickly, even though there is little stability. Real employment isn’t just a payslip; it’s a career path.

Until we measure retention rates rather than simply counting roles filled, we risk celebrating a hollow victory. Apparent stability in unemployment, Universal Credit, and PIP figures can look positive on paper while concealing persistent insecurity underneath.

At Oleeo, we advocate for looking........

© LBC