- ONS
The jobless total in the UK increased for the first time in almost a year. The UK unemployment rose by 21,000 to 1.7 million between December and February, and that was the first increase since the May-July period of the last year, the Office for National Statistics reported. The number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits increased by 6,700 in March to 732,100, the first monthly rise since last August. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained at anticipated 5.1%, which is still down by 0.5% on a year ago and the lowest since 2005.
Other data from the ONS showed that the number of self-employed workers increased by 120,000 to a near record 4.6 million, while people on government training and employment programmes fell by 9,000 to 102,000. Data also showed that there were 14.6 million women in work, down by 40,000 on the previous three months and the first fall since the autumn of 2012. The quarterly reduction in women's employment was the biggest for five years. In contrast, male employment was almost 16.8 million, the highest since records began in 1971.
The ONS assume that while it is too soon to be certain but, with the jobless up for the first time since mid-2015, and employment facing its slowest rise, it is possible that recent developments in the job market may be easing off.
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