THE number of Brits without a job hit 1.7million in January with 11,000 more losing work as the UK entered a third national lockdown.
The figure is up 360,000 on the same period – between November and January – last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), before the coronavirus crisis hit the economy.
It’s also increased by 11,000 on the previous three months, from August to October.
Overall, the unemployment rate was at 5%, slightly lower than the 5.2% economists had expected.
Positively, there were 68,000 more registered on the payroll in February compared to January this year, but it was still a huge 693,000 drop compared to February 2020.
The overall rate is 1.1% higher than the previous year, and up 0.1% on the previous three months.
For men, the unemployment rate hit 5.2%, while for women it reached 4.7%, both up 1.1% on 2020.
During the three months the data represents, parts of England were shut down under the Tier system, while others were placed under tough restrictions.
Scotland and Wales were also under their own national lockdown rules to stop the spread of a infectious new variant of Covid-19.
By January, all three nations were in a full lockdown, with businesses including pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail told to temporarily close.
More to follow…
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