By: Sattwik Biswal
Britain’s unemployment rate fell to 5.0 per cent in three months to the end of January, but remained close to five-year high as the country looks to lift coronavirus restrictions.
In a statement by Office for National Statistics (ONS), in comparison with the three months to the end of December, the rate was 5.1 per cent.
“The UK unemployment rate, in the three months to January 2021, was estimated at 5.0 percent, 1.1 percentage points higher than a year earlier,” the ONS said.
According to analysts, the unemployment rate is steady because of the government’s support package, which is taking care of the wages of private-sector workers. However, there are fears of joblessness going up once this package is withdrawn.
With a fast rollout of the vaccine programme, Britain remains hopeful of the economy bouncing back.