UK Unemployment Falls to 3.7% as Record Job Vacancies Reported

Source: Office for National Statistics

The UK posted an unemployment rate of 3.7% in the quarter January to March 2022, a decline of 0.3 percentage points. FTSE 100 is up +0.93%, GBPUSD is up +1.11%.

• The decline in unemployment comes even as the job vacancies in February to April hit a fresh record of 1.295 million. For the first time on record, there were fewer unemployed people than vacancies. 
• The employment rate saw an increase of 0.1% in the quarter to hit 75.7%. A record number of people moved from economic inactivity into employment. The overall economic inactivity rate rose by 0.1% to 21.4% in the quarter.
• Payrolled employees increased by 121,000 to hit a record 29.5 million. Total weekly hours worked improved by 14.8 million to 1.04 million hours in the quarter.
• Despite the improvement in the UK employment situation, the levels are still below the pre-pandemic period.