UK unemployment held at a post-pandemic peak of 5.2 per cent at the start of the year, underlining the Bank of England’s challenge as rate-setters confront an energy price shock and lacklustre economic growth.
The jobless rate for the three months from November to January was lower than the 5.3 per cent analysts had expected. It was reinforced by separate data based on tax records, which showed hiring steadied at the start of the year as uncertainty over fiscal policy eased following November’s Budget.
Payroll employment edged up by 6,000 between December and January, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday, and provisional figures pointed to a further gain of 20,000 or 0.1 per cent between January and February.
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