Almost 650,000 people in Britain lost their jobs in the past 3 months, and job vacancies hit an all-time low

• New data showed that nearly 650,000 Britons lost their jobs over the past three months.
• The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate was "largely unchanged" at 3.9% because although more people are out of work, they are not currently looking for a job.
• The number of hours worked shrank by a record amount.

Almost 650,000 people in the UK lost their jobs in the past three months, official figures showed on Thursday.

The number of paid employees fell by 649,000 between March and June, according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). It is 1.9% lower than last year, the ONS estimates.

The number of hours worked dropped by a record amount. The number of job vacancies hit an all-time low — 23% lower than the previous record, clocked in 2001.

The ONS said the UK unemployment rate stood at 3.9%, "largely unchanged" on a quarterly basis. This is because unemployment figures only count those out of work who are actively seeking a job and able to begin work within two weeks. Many of those that have lost their jobs are no longer seeking employment.

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"Employment is weakening and unemployment is largely unchanged, but there are some signs of economic inactivity rising, with people out of work not currently looking for work," the ONS said.

Many people are still temporarily out of work, including furloughed workers. Data shows that around half a million people lost their jobs and received no pay because of the pandemic, it added.

Worker pay fell furthest in the accommodation and food-service industries.

The jobs data doesn't tell the whole story, according to Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at SpreadEx.

"The self-employed suffered their worst quarter on record. Job vacancies are non-existent. And, reportedly, 29% of UK businesses are preparing to cut jobs across the next three months," he said.

ONS estimates for the months of March to May show about 1.35 million people were unemployed — representing a rise of 55,000 from last year, but 17,000 fewer than the previous quarter.

Between May and June, the claimant count — those who claim universal credit and job seeker's allowance — fell by 28,100 to 2.6 million.

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