The number of payrolled workers in the economy slipped back in March, ending three months of recovery from the coronavirus employment crisis.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said early estimates showed 56,000 people in PAYE employment lost their jobs – on a net basis – last month.

It meant there were 813,000 fewer people in payrolled employment in March compared to the same month last year, when the UK was forced into its first COVID-19 lockdown that left much of the economy in a deep spring freeze.

The figures showed that the young – those 25 and under – continued to bear the biggest burden as they accounted for almost 54% of those to have been left without work because they are more likely to have been in sectors such as hospitality.

Wider ONS data, covering the three months to the end of February, reported a further decline in the UK’s jobless rate to 4.9% from 5%.

Economists had expected a slight increase.

It also showed that wages, including bonuses, over the three month period were 4.5% up though the figure is distorted by the fact that the number of people to have lost work tended to be among the lowest paid.

The ONS said that when the anomaly was stripped out, wage growth was likely to be running at 2.5%.

The statistics showed continued resilience for the jobs market, as a whole, amid continued government financial support for businesses and their staff.

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There were five million workers still on furlough in March, ahead of the easing in current lockdowns.

There were 607,000 jobs advertised during the first quarter of the year.

While markedly down on the same period in 2020, there was encouragement from experimental data, produced with Adzuna, which noted a 16% leap in job vacancies advertised online last month.

The ONS suggested the figure was continuing to accelerate during April.

Darren Morgan, its director of economic statistics, said: “The latest figures suggest that the jobs market has been broadly stable in recent months after the major shock of last spring.

“The number of people on payroll fell slightly in March after a few months of growth.

“There are, though, over 800,000 fewer employees than before the pandemic struck, and with around five million people employed but still on furlough, the labour market remains subdued.

“However, with the prospect of businesses reopening, there was a marked rise in job vacancies in March, especially in sectors such as hospitality.”

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