Continued fall in unemployment rate obscuring 'true scale' of Covid-related jobless

Job vacancies exceed 1m

The UK’s unemployment rate fell further in the May to July period, down 0.3 percentage points to 4.6%, although experts have warned that with the end of the furlough scheme looming, the jobs market remains “in recovery” and the Bank of England may face pressure to act.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that there was a quarterly increase in the employment rate of 0.5 percentage points, to 75.2% over the same period. In June to August, the number of job vacancies was 1,034,000, which is the first time vacancies have risen to above 1m since records began, and is now 249,000 above its pre-pandemic January to March 2020 level. However, Paul Craig, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors, said it remained "unclear" for just how long job creation can be sustained. UK recovery to 'remain bumpy': Industry reacts to ...