UK Unemplyment falls

Unemployment falls to 4.9%Office for National Statistics data shows that the UK’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in the three months to February, with this marking a slight improvement on the 5% recorded in the three months to January (and the UK unemployment rate still remains half of that of the rest of the EU as it has done for the last decade). Separate data from HMRC shows that as many as 4.7m jobs remained furloughed at the end of February. Meanwhile, analysis suggests the number of job adverts placed online increased in March and early April, with this attributed in part to the easing of lockdown restrictions that have seen non-essential stores and parts of the hospitality sector reopen.