The number of people working has surged above pre-pandemic levels according to official figures. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of payrolled workers rose by 207,000 between August and September to a record 29.2 million.

This was 122,000 higher than levels seen before before the pandemic struck in February 2020.

The data also showed another record quarterly leap in job vacancies, up by 1.1 million between July and September.

Britain’s recovery in the jobs market saw the rate of unemployment fall further to 4.5 per cent between June and August, the ONS added.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “The jobs market has continued to recover from the effects of the coronavirus, with the number of employees on payroll in September now well exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

“Vacancies also reached a new one-month record in September, at nearly 1.2 million, with our latest estimates suggesting that all industries have at least as many jobs on offer now as before the onset of Covid-19.”