(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. labor market weakened unexpectedly, with company payrolls falling for the first time in four months and more people pulling out of the workforce.
The number of employees on payrolls fell 56,000 in March, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. The jobless rate fell to 4.9% in the quarter through February because the number of people looking for work dropped.
The biggest declines in payroll employment were in retail, hospitality and the arts, all parts of the economy that had been forced to close to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Shops and restaurants started opening earlier this month.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Advertisement