UK payrolls decline by 649,000 between March and June

The number of people on UK payrolls declined by 649,000 between March and June as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.

The figures showed that between May and June, 74,000 people lost their jobs.

ONS deputy national statistician for Economic Statistics, Jonathan Athow, said: "As the pandemic took hold, the labour market weakened markedly, but that rate of decline slowed into June, though this is before recent reports of job losses. There are now almost two-thirds of a million fewer employees on the payroll than before the lockdown, according to the latest tax data.

"The Labour Force Survey is showing only a small fall in employment, but shows a large number of people who report working no hours and getting no pay. Both tax and survey data also show the number of new starters has fallen sharply.

"There are now far more out-of-work people who are not looking for a job than before the pandemic. pay is now falling on most measures, with many furloughed workers not having their wages topped up by their employers."

The unemployment rate was steady at 3.9% for the three months to May, beating expectations for a rise to 4.2%.

Self-employment fell by 178,000 between March and June to 4.85 million - marking the worst quarter on record - and vacancies in April to June were at their lowest level since the vacancy survey began, at an estimated 333,000. This is 23% lower than the previous record low in April to June 2009.

The claimant count rate came in at 7.3% in June compared to 7.4% in May, which was the highest level since May 1996.

The figures also showed that jobless claims fell by 28,100 in May after surging by 853,000 in April and 566,400 in March.

Between March and June, average weekly hours worked per person declined by 5.5 hours to a record low of 26.7.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "Unemployment claims were better than feared but we can pin this on furlough schemes which are extending the pretence, delaying the worst and providing a soft landing; but the jobless numbers clearly do not reflect the true extent of what’s coming. Meanwhile the number of hours worked - a key metric for the nation’s productivity - has collapsed."