The labour market in the UK was just one of the things deeply affected by the pandemic, with many people who lost their job during the Covid-19 crisis still unable to re-join employment.
According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the unemployment rate for March to May 2022 was 3.8 per cent, which is the same level recorded between December 2019 and February 2020.
This shows the same proportion of people are out of work now than they were before the pandemic, despite the employment rate having also dropped over the last couple of years. While a record-breaking 76.5 per cent of the public were in jobs at the beginning of 2020, this has fallen to 75.9 per cent.
According to a spokesperson for the ONS: “During the first year of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, there was a decrease in the employment rate and increases in the economic inactivity and unemployment rates for both men and women.”
It then noted these latest figures show “the unemployment rate for both men and women has now returned to levels similar to those seen before the coronavirus pandemic”.
The results might look this way as lots of people who found themselves out of work after Covid-19 hit have decided to launch their own business or turn to the world of self-employment.
While 400,000 companies were forced to close during 2020, the same number of start-ups were formed that year, as entrepreneurs realised they could launch a business from home and tap into new demands caused by the unique global situation.
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