Britain’s unemployment rate has risen to 4.2%, as the number of workers in payrolled jobs falls and more people leave the jobs market.
The latest healthcheck on the UK’s labour market shows that the unemployment total rose by 85,000 in the December-February quarter, to 1.44 million.
That takes the jobless rate to its highest level since last summer, just before the UK began sliding into a shallow recession.
The number of people in employment fell by 156,000 in the quarter to 32.98 million, as firms cut back on their workforce.
But not all those people joined the ranks of the unemployed; another 150,000 people were classed as "economically inactive" in the quarter, taking the number neither in work nor looking for a job to 9.404 million.
And in March, the number of payrolled employees shrank by 67,000, to 30.3 million.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown says there are “tentative signs that the jobs market is beginning to cool”, given the drop in headline employment rate and the fall in payrolls.
McKeown adds: “However, we would recommend caution when looking at the size of the fall in headline employment, as previously highlighted lower sample sizes mean there is greater volatility in quarterly changes than was the case.”
Meanwhile, China’s economy has beaten expectations for growth in the first quarter of the year, but there are already signs that growth may be slowing.
China’s gross domestic product. grew by 5.3% in January-March compared to a year ago, data released today by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
That beat foreasts of 4.6% increase, and shows a slight rise on the 5.2% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics says the country’s economy had continued to rebound in Q1 2024, but also struck a cautious note: "Generally speaking, in the first quarter, the national economy made a good start with positive factors amassing, laying a strong foundation for achieving the annual development targets.
"However, we should be aware that the external environment is becoming more complex, severe and uncertain, and the foundation for stable and sound economic growth is not solid yet."
However, a flurry of economic reports from March were weaker than expected, implying that demand softened at the end of the quarter.
Retail sales figures for March only rose by 3.1%, missing forecasts of 4.5% growth, while industrial production grew by 4.5%, failed to meet market expectations of 5.4% growth.
Asia-Pacific markets have fallen into the red, with China’s Shenzhen Composite index down 2.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 1.5%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is down 1.7%.
Concerns over tensions in the Middle East, along with anxiety over how soon central banks will start cutting interest rates, are dampening risk appetite among investors.
The agenda
• 10am BST: ZEW index of eurozone economic sentiment
• 10.15am BST: Treasury committee hearing with Clare Lombardelli, deputy governor at the Bank of England
• 1.30pm BST: US building permits and housing starts data for March
• 2pm BST: IMF releases its latest World Economic Outlook
• 3.15pm BST: IMF releases its latest Global Financial Stability Report
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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