UK Unemployment Drops as Economy Shows Signs of Recovery - Report

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Tuesday that the UK's unemployment dropped to 4.8 percent from January to March this year, but only 0.3 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter, as the economy began to show signs of recovery with the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions.

The ONS said that the ''latest (January to March 2021) estimates show signs of recovery, with a quarterly increase in the employment rate. Meanwhile, there was a quarterly decrease in the unemployment rate and the economic inactivity rate increased on the quarter."

However, despite the increase in the number of payroll employees, mainly in the hospitality sector, there are still more than 772,000 jobless people in the UK compared to pre-pandemic levels, the report highlighted.

As many businesses are reopening, the recent recovery in job vacancies continued into April, especially in sectors such hospitality and entertainment, ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said.

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