UK jobless rate falls further below pre-pandemic rate

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpLONDON Reuters Britains unemployment rate fell to 3.8 in the three months to February, slipping further below its level immediately before the coronavirus pandemic, official figures showed on Tuesday.p

pA Reuters poll of economists had pointed to the jobless rate falling to 3.8 – matching a low in October to December 2019 – from a previous reading of 3.9.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pThe last time the British unemployment rate was lower than 3.8 was in 1974.p

pThe number of job vacancies hit a fresh record high in the three months to March at 1.288 million, a reminder of the potential inflationary heat in the labour market that has the Bank of England on alert as it raises interest rates.p

pEmployment was up by 10,000 in the DecemberFebruary period while unemployment fell by 86,000, the Office for National Statistics said.p

pA separate measures of the number of staff on businesses payrolls in March rose by 35,000. Februarys increase was revised down to 174,000 from an original reading of 275,000.p

p Reporting by William Schomberg editing by David Millikenp

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