Payroll numbers rise but under-25s hit hardest

The number of workers on company payrolls in the UK climbed by 200,000 in the three months to February, amid signs that the jobs crisis may be stabilising.

However, the number on payrolls is still 693,000 lower than last February, before Covid lockdown measures began.

People aged under 25 continue to bear the brunt of the job losses, the Office for National Statistics said.

It came as the unemployment rate stood at 5%, down from 5.1% previously.

Sam Beckett, ONS head of economic statistics, told the BBC's Today programme there was still a lot of uncertainty in the jobs market.

"Furlough is still doing a lot of heavy lifting in the labour market. There are around five million people still on furlough, it's down from its peak of nine million but has been rising recently.

"But you have to remember the underlying picture is that close to 700,000 people have come off the payroll since the start of the pandemic so there has been a large fall in employment since the start

"Young people have borne much of the brunt, around two-thirds of the fall is under-25s. London has been particularly hard hit."