The latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that UK employment levels have reached a record high - the UK employment rate was estimated at 76.1%, the joint-highest on record. Jobs requiring more qualifications, particularly in sectors like technology and science, continued to show the biggest increase. Higher skilled roles made up around 75% of the rise in employment - hiring an extra 2.6million people since 2010.

Over 32 million people are in work in the UK, and the unemployment rate remains its lowest since the 1970s at an estimated 3.8%, with youth unemployment level falling by nearly half since 2010.

Not only this, UK workers have enjoyed an unbroken period of real-terms wage growth since February 2018, and the latest figures show – real total pay growing by 1.2% in the last year. Employment Minister Alok Sharma commented, “With wage growth increasing pace on last month, outstripping inflation for the 15th month in a row, and record high female employment – the government’s focus on pro-business policies and balanced economic management is delivering opportunity for all”.

This is a great news story that paints a wonderful picture and it’s great to know that so many of us in the UK are working and earning more than we have before. However, the depressing truth is that only a few of us are protecting our incomes in case the worst should happen. Figures released from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) show that only 6% of those employed and 6% of the self-employed have income protection insurance. Which means that millions of people in the UK are not prepared for a sudden income shock.

Being unable to work and bring in an income is not something any of us like to think about, but Which? Magazine has recently confirmed that one protection policy every working adult in the UK should consider is 'Income Protection'.

The Money Advice Service backs the consideration of this type of insurance too, they say that “each year 1 million people in the UK find themselves unable to work due to a serious illness or injury. Income protection insurance is designed to give you some cover if you can’t earn an income for those reasons.

If something happened to you would you be able to survive on savings, or on sick pay from work? If not, you’ll need some other way to keep paying the bills and you might want to consider income protection insurance”.

Income Protection is an insurance policy designed to provide people with financial security should they find themselves unable to work for a period of time due to an accident or sickness. Essentially it works when you can’t.

There are several different policy options available to suit a variety of budgets. It’s also possible to tailor cover to protect specific debts or select a more specific term for a policy. To help make it easier for you to decide which policy is best for your needs, we can help. If you’d like to find out more, give us a call on 0800 612 8005 and we’ll talk you through your options.

Ultimately, things seem to be looking good for the UK employment market and if you are one of the 32 million who are working, taking out insurance for your most valuable asset is a small price to pay for peace of mind knowing you’ll be financially resilient and be better prepared if the worst did happen.