"The heavy snow placed a crippling freeze on growth for retailers and small businesses"
- John Salt, director of recruitment website totaljobs.com
Britain's unemployment rate edged higher in the three months to February, while the number of people asking for jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped in March, sending mixed signals about nation's labour market. The number of people out of work surged by 70,000, reaching 2.56 million between December and February, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The increase boosted the overall jobless rate for the quarter higher 0.1% and to 7.9%, up from 7.8%. That is the highest rate since the three months to August 2012, when it also stood at the level of 7.9%.
A report also showed that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in March tumbled 7,000 to 1.53 million. In the meantime, average earnings rose only by 0.8% in the year to February, the lowest growth rate since the end of 2009. Despite weak economic performance during the last year, the labour market was resilient; however, latest data is raising questions over how much longer this strength can be sustained without a pick-up in the economy.
"The heavy snow placed a crippling freeze on growth for retailers and small businesses," said John Salt, director of recruitment website totaljobs.com. "The extended winter also put the brakes on building work in the UK."
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