UK unemployment rate falls to 4.8% for the first three months to March
Unemployment dropped during the first three months of 2021 despite continued lockdowns as the jobs market recovered.
A number of companies are hiring more staff, while some are retaining employees ahead of an expected reopening, according to official data.
The Office for National Statistics announced that payrolls increased by 97,000 between March and April, in what was the fifth month of growth in a row.
The official UK employment rate grew for the first time since the pandemic begun last year.
The unemployment rate falling to 4.8% for the first three months to March put to bed fears of mass unemployment akin to that seen during the 1980s.
“The latest figures suggest that the jobs market has been broadly stable in recent months, with some early signs of recovery,” the ONS said.
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, said: “While sadly not every job can be saved, nearly two million fewer people are now expected to be out of work than initially expected – showing our Plan for Jobs is working.”
The amount of people in employment rose by 84,000 in the first quarter to 32.5m, above predictions of a 50,000 rise. It is the first time since the coronavirus emerged that the number of people employed rose on the ONS’s labour force survey.
The employment, up for the first time in a year, is now at 75.2%.
Commenting on UK unemployment falling to 4.8% in March Ian Warwick, Managing Partner at Deepbridge Capital, said: “While today’s data marks just a slight fall in the UK unemployment rate it follows positive GDP data last week to be yet further evidence that the economy is moving in the right direction at a significant pace.”
“As we focus on economic recovery, it remains critically important that scale-up businesses, particularly in high-growth sectors such as digital technologies and life sciences are supported; as they will be at the very heart of economic growth as we create an economy fit for the twenty-first century.”
