UK unemployment falls again as firms readied for lockdown easing
By William Schomberg and David Milliken
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell again to 4.8% between January and March, a period which the country spent under a tight COVID lockdown, and hiring rose further in April, data showed on Tuesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected the unemployment rate to hold at 4.9%.
The data added to signs that Britain's labour market has not suffered the severe hit feared at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, in large part due to the government's huge jobs subsidy programme.
The number of people in employment jumped by 84,000 in the first quarter of 2021, the first increase since the coronavirus crisis began and a stronger increase than the median forecast of a 50,000 rise in the poll. Those classed as unemployed fell by 121,000.