Unemployment rate falls in Yorkshire and the Humber during first quarter

The number of workers on payrolls increased in Yorkshire and the Humber between January and March this year as the unemployment rate in the region fell by 0.4%.

The Office for National Statistics puts the overall rate of unemployment at 4.6%, which is slightly lower than the national average which stands at 4.8%.

The number of workers on payrolls across the UK rose by 97,000 between March and April and job vacancies rose as shops and outdoor dining resumed with the lifting of lockdown restrictions.

However, there were 772,000 fewer workers on payrolls than before the pandemic, showing the toll taken by the crisis on the jobs market.



Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "The number of employees on payroll rose strongly in April as the economy began to reopen, continuing the improvement from its November trough.

"There remains, however, three-quarters of a million people fewer on the payroll compared with the pre-pandemic peak.

"With many businesses reopening, the recent recovery in job vacancies continued into April, especially in sectors such as hospitality and entertainment.

"The renewed lockdown at the beginning of 2021 saw a sharp rise in the number of previously unemployed people no longer looking for work, helping the unemployment rate to fall on the quarter.

"This mirrored what happened during the first lockdown."