A woman cleans inside a shop during lockdown in London, Wednesday, February 17, 2021. The U.K. unemployment rate increased for a six straight month in December as renewed coronavirus restrictions shut down most businesses across the country. The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that unemployment increased to 5.1 percent in December, up 0.1 percent from the previous month and 1.3 percent from a year earlier. The number of people on company payrolls has dropped by 726,000 since the pandemic began last February, with 58.5 percent of the decline coming among people under 25. The figures don’t show the full impact of coronavirus disease restrictions on employment because some 1.9 million workers remain on furlough.

Source: The Standard February 23, 2021 11:48 UTC