The UK’s labour market continued to recover last month, with the number of job vacancies now exceeding pre-Covid levels, official data has revealed.  The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 862,000 job vacancies in April to June this year: an increase of 241,200 (39 per cent) on the previous quarter and 77,500 (10 per cent) higher than the vacancy levels in January to March 2020.

All but one sector saw an increase in the number of vacancies, with the arts, entertainment and recreation sector seeing the most notable increase of 330 per cent.  The number of employees on payroll also increased again in June by 356,000 to 28.9 million, and for the first time since the start of the pandemic, some regions and nations now have employment levels above their pre-pandemic rate.

However, employment across the country is still 206,000 below pre-Covid levels.

As coronavirus restrictions ease, the total number of hours worked across the economy also increased in the last quarter, but is also still below pre-pandemic levels.