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from: PAN PYLAS, Associated Press
Posted: 09/14/2021 / 6:24 AM CDT
Updated: 09/14/2021 / 6:30 a.m. CDT
LONDON (AP) – The UK workforce has returned to levels last seen before the coronavirus pandemic broke out a year and a half ago. Official figures showed Tuesday in the latest clear signal that the lifting of lockdown restrictions has prompted companies to increase hiring.
The National Statistics Office said the number of employees rose by 241,000 between July and August to 29.1 million. The total is now 1,000 higher than the month prior to the March 2020 pandemic outbreak.
The Bureau of Statistics also said the number of job vacancies rose 249,000 to more than 1 million in the three months to August for the first time since records began in 2001, as workers in industries such as accommodation and food services partially use related to the pandemic, but will also become scarce because of Great Britain’s exit from the European Union.
It also found that the overall unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 4.6% in July, while the employment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 75.2%.
Overall, the numbers suggest the positive impact of the lifting of restrictions in recent months and the recovery in confidence following the rapid roll-out of coronavirus vaccines across the UK
National statistician Jonathan Athow warned that job recovery is uneven and that “in hard-hit areas like London and sectors such as hospitality, arts and leisure, the number of workers continues to decline at pre-pandemic levels”.
There is also unease about what will happen to the labor market in the coming months as the government’s salary support program, which kept unemployment in check during the pandemic, comes to an end.
As part of the coronavirus job retention program due to expire in late September, the government paid 80% of the salaries of workers unable to work due to lockdown measures. The program has helped support around 12 million people at its peak. However, the number fell when lockdown restrictions were lifted and is now around 1.6 million.
“With the vacation program ending in just over two weeks, we should expect another spike in unemployment this fall, particularly among employees on leave who cannot return to their previous work,” said Nye Cominetti, senior economist at the resolution’s think tank Foundation.
The unions are calling on the government to provide new support, particularly for sectors like aviation, which are still struggling in the face of restrictions.
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at:
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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