The UK’s national employment rate is set to surpass the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level for the first time.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) published its latest labour market overview on Tuesday, showing an increase in both employees and those in self-employment.
In the latest quarter, the UK employment rate was 76 percent, a rise of 0.2 percentage points from the months November 2022 to January 2023.
The ONS reported that in May the number of employees on the payroll reached 30 million, following a 23,000 increase.
Director of economic statistics at the ONS, Darren Morgan, said: “With another rise in employment, the number of people in work overall has gone past its pre-pandemic level for the first time, setting a new record high, as have total hours worked….