New figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.9% in the three months to February, down from 5% in the previous data. ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan says:

“The latest figures suggest that the jobs market has been broadly stable in recent months after the major shock of last spring. The number of people on payroll fell slightly in March after a few months of growth.

There are, though, over 800,000 fewer employees than before the pandemic struck, and with around five million people employed but still on furlough, the labour market remains subdued.”

Figures released last week also showed the economy returning to growth in the same period to February, so today’s data is another encouraging sign – especially as more vacancies open up in areas like hospitality as lockdown is lifted. Of course, with five million people still on furlough heading into the summer, there’s a long road to recovery…