The number of UK workers on payrolls fell by 649,000 between March and June, the Office of National Statistics has said.
A further 74,000 jobs were claimed by the coronavirus crisis last month, the data shows. There are also signs of economic inactivity rising, with people out of work not currently looking for new jobs, the ONS said.
The amount of hours worked has also continued to fall, reaching record lows both on the year and on the quarter, the report showed. In May, there were around half a million people away from work because of the pandemic and receiving no pay.
However, despite the weakening employment rates, which impacted both self-employed and part-time workers, unemployment is not rising because of increase in people ‘out of work, but not currently looking for work’.
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Vacancies in the UK between April and June 2020 are also at the lowest level since the Vacancy Survey began in 2001. There are estimated to be 333,000 available, which is 23% lower than the previous record low in April to June 2009.
Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS said: ‘As the pandemic took hold, the labour market weakened markedly, but that rate of decline slowed into June, though this is before recent reports of job losses.
‘There are now almost two-thirds of a million fewer employees on the payroll than before the lockdown, according to the latest tax data.
‘The Labour Force Survey is showing only a small fall in employment, but shows a large number of people who report working no hours and getting no pay.’
He added: ‘There are now far more out-of-work people who are not looking for a job than before the pandemic.’
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