UK Payrolls Shed 78,000 Workers Amid Budget Tax Rises and Global Uncertainty

The number of workers on UK company payrolls has fallen at the fastest pace since the height of the Covid pandemic amid mounting global uncertainty and warnings that Rachel Reeves's budget measures could lead to job losses.

- Richard Partington

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of people employed in at least one job paid through pay as you earn fell by 78,000 in March after a revised fall of 8,000 in February.

Reflecting a slowdown in the jobs market, the latest snapshot showed annual pay growth rose slightly in the three months to February and remained at historically high levels. Regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose 5.9%, from a revised 5.8% in the previous rolling three-month period to the end of January. This was slightly below a prediction of 6% from City economists.

Despite the drop in the number of workers on company payrolls, the ONS said its official unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.4% in the three months to February.

However, the government agency has warned there are problems with the quality of the UK's official jobs market statistics because of low response rates to its main labour force survey.