UK Unemployment Rises to 5% in March; Youth Unemployment Hits 14.7%

The UK unemployment rate increased to 5% in the three months ending in March, according to the Office for National Statistics. Youth unemployment reached 14.7% during the same period, the highest level since late 2014. An early estimate from the ONS shows that the number of payrolled employees in the UK fell by 100,000 in April compared to the previous month.

The ONS reported that hospitality has seen some of the largest falls in payroll numbers, both in recent months and over the last year.

UKHospitality stated that the past two government budgets have imposed more than £5 billion of additional costs on hospitality businesses, resulting in job cuts, reduced hours, and cancelled plans for new roles. The organization said that provisional data for April, projecting a further 100,000 job losses across the economy, reflects businesses responding to significant cost increases, including higher wages and business rates.

UKHospitality called for a cut in VAT for the hospitality sector and reform of business rates for the sector.