Around 695,000 jobs lost since March as unemployment rises
Around 695,000 UK workers have been removed from the payrolls of British companies since March when the coronavirus lockdown began, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment increased as another 36,000 jobs fell off payrolls across the country.
The ONS said the increase in unemployment has particularly impacted young people, as it revealed a 76,000 rise in the number of unemployed people aged between 16 and 24 over the past year.
Video report by ITV News Correspondent John Ray
Meanwhile, the number of people in employment dropped to 32.98 million, falling 12,000 since the previous quarter.
ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: “Some effects of the pandemic on the labour market were beginning to unwind in July as parts of the economy reopened.
“Fewer workers were away on furlough and average hours rose.
“The number of job vacancies continued to recover into August, too.
“Nonetheless, with the number of employees on the payroll down again in August and both unemployment and redundancies sharply up in July, it is clear that coronavirus is still having a big impact on the world of work.”
However, the rate of employment nudged 0.1 percentage points higher to 76.5%.
This was bolstered by a joint record high for the number of women in work across the UK, with 72.9% of women in work.
Meanwhile, jobs vacancies for the three months to August rebounded.
The ONS said there were an estimated 434,000 vacancies in the quarter, rising 30% from a record low in the quarter to June, but still significantly below pre-virus levels.
Meanwhile, unemployment increased by 104,000 to 1.4 million for the three months to July.
It said the rate of unemployment therefore increased to 4.1%, in line with analyst expectations.
However, the rate of employment nudged 0.1 percentage points higher to 76.5%.