The UK Unemployment Rate Fell on Government Job Protections

Official figures showed that the unemployment rate in Britain unexpectedly decreased for the second month in a row to 4.9% in the period from December to February, most of which were under strict isolation measures to confront the outbreak of Covid-19.

Most of the economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate, which the government faced with a massive job-support program, would rise to 5.1% from 5% in the three months to January.

The Office for National Statistics said that there was a noticeable rise in the number of vacancies in March, especially in sectors such as hospitality, which authorities allowed him to return to work through open places last week.

Finance Minister Rishi Sunak in March extended a plan under which the government would pay around one in five employees until the end of September, although employers will have to contribute to some of the plan’s costs from July.

Without this program, the unemployment rate would have been much higher. A year ago, those providing Britain’s budget forecasts said it might reach 10%.

The Bank of England will monitor the number of jobs lost when this plan expires while it considers how long it will be needed to continue its massive economic stimulus program.