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Unemployment in UK up less than expected in January lockdown
The number of people in employment fell by 147,000.The job cuts came during two lockdowns that closed non-essential stores and restaurants and bars.
UK unemployment rose less than expected during a national lockdown to control the coronavirus as a government furlough program preserved jobs.The number of people looking for work rose 11,000 to 1.7 million, taking the jobless rate to 5%, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Economists had expected the rate to rise to 5.2%.
The number of people in employment fell by 147,000.The job cuts came during two lockdowns that closed non-essential stores and restaurants and bars. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is protecting jobs through furlough payments that cover 80% of wages to those whose workplaces were forced to close, a program he has since extended through September.
The rise in unemployment was restrained by a leap in the number of people counted as economically inactive and outside the workforce as those who lost their jobs left the labor force instead of searching for a new position.
The Office for Budget Responsibility now sees jobless rate peaking at 6.5% in the fourth quarter, or about 2.2 million people. That’s lower and later than previously estimated. It’s also significantly below the peak of recessions in previous decades, despite the economy enduring its deepest slump for three centuries last year.
Sunak hopes that the wage-subsidy program, the most expensive part of an economic support package now totaling around 350 billion pounds, will protect workers as the economy gradually reopens over the next three months.
Separate figures based on tax data show the number of employees on payrolls rose for a third consecutive month in February. The increase of 68,000 still left the total down by 693,000 from February last year, just before the pandemic struck.Growth in average earning excluding bonuses accelerated to 4.2%, the fastest since 2008. The ONS pointed out that the increase reflected that fact that that there are fewer lower-paid jobs as a result of the pandemic. Underlying pay growth is around 2.5%.
