Chancellor hails 'thriving' jobs market as unemployment rate falls to nearly pre-Covid levels

The unemployment rate has fallen back to nearly pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest figures up to November 2021.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of UK payrolled workers jumped by a record 184,000 month on month, or 0.6%, in December to 29.5 million.

The figures also reveal that, in the three months to November, the unemployment rate fell back almost to 4.1% from 4.2% in the previous quarter.

The ONS said the number of people employed is now 1.4%, or 409,000, above levels seen before the pandemic.

But the figures laid bare the toll of recent soaring prices on household finances, with the ONS revealing that wages after taking account of inflation fell in November for the first time since July 2020.

Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “The number of employees on payrolls continued to grow strongly in December, with the total now well above pre-pandemic levels.

“New survey figures show that, in the three months to November, the unemployment rate fell back almost to where it was before Covid-19 hit, and those reporting they’d recently been made redundant fell to their lowest since records began more than a quarter of a century ago.

“However, while job vacancies reached a new high in the last quarter of 2021, they are now growing more slowly than they were last summer.

“Following recent rises in inflation, in November real wages fell on the year for the first time since July 2020.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Today’s figures are proof that the jobs market is thriving, with employee numbers rising to record levels and redundancy notifications at their lowest levels since 2006 in December.”