A new colleague working with you on the unemployment statistics for this Policy Brief and is feeling a bit puzzled by the labour market data. They tell you: "I don't understand how sometimes the number of people in employment goes up at the same time that the unemployment also goes up. For example, between July 2022 and August 2022, the number of people in employment increased from 13,558,600 to 13,592,100, but the unemployment rate didn't fall. Instead, it rose from 3.4% to 3.5%. If there are now more people with jobs, shouldn't the unemployment rate go down? How is this possible?"

Firstly verify whether your colleague is correct when they say that the unemployment rate increased between July 2022 and August 2022.

Next, help your colleague understand how it is possible for the unemployment rate to rise even though the number of people with jobs also rose. Explain what other economic indicator needs to be monitored, and provide your calculation of the changes in this other indicator that occurred between July 2022 and August 2022.