UK unemployment rate at 4.7% in April
The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom declined 0.3 percentage points (ppts) in the trimester ending in April when compared to the previous quarter, to stand at 4.7%, matching market expectations, according to a report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday.
However, the unemployment rate was still 0.8 ppts higher than it was before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the UK employment rate was estimated to be 0.2 points higher from the previous trimester, climbing to 75.2%, which was 1.4 percentage points lower in comparison to the pre-pandemic quarter, from December 2019 to February 2020.
For the period from February 2021 to April 2021, the growth rate in average total pay was 8.4%, while for regular pay that rate stood at 7.3%. At the same time, the estimated economic inactivity rate was virtually unchanged at 21%. Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies reached 758,000 in the three months to May 2021, 27,000 shy of its pre-pandemic levels, and recording a quarterly increase of 24% or 146,000 vacancies.