UK Worker Numbers Continue To Rise Despite Wind Down Of Furlough Scheme
According to official figures, UK worker numbers have increased further in July despite the winding down of the government’s furlough scheme.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that, between June and July, the number of UK workers on payrolls increased by 182,000. However, at 28.9 million, this figure still comes in 201,000 lower than pre-pandemic levels, with around 750,000 jobs lost during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The ONS also confirmed that unemployment rates dropped to 4.7% for the three-month period to the end of June where analysts had expected rates to remain flat at 4.8% for the quarter.
Additionally, the ONS reported a further increase in job vacancies across the UK as companies seek to fill roles following the reopening of the economy. Job vacancies across the country have now risen by more than 290,000 against the previous quarter.
John Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at ONS, said the statistics body saw no sign of redundancies starting to pick up in its survey data ahead of the furlough scheme starting to wind down. Athow also said that the Insolvency Service figures for July suggested the same.
