Britain’s unemployment rate has fallen for the second month in a row and job vacancies surged as businesses prepared to reopen after lockdown in a sign of hope for the battered jobs market, official figures have shown.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobless rate fell to 4.9% between December and February, down from 5% in the previous three months.

Most economists had expected it to rise to 5.1%.

But the figures also showed the number of workers on UK payrolls fell by 56,000 in March after three months of increases, as the pandemic continued to take its toll.

Overall there were 813,000 fewer workers on payrolls than in March 2020.

The ONS said there were further signs that the jobs sector is stabilising, with statistics signalling a near-16% jump in vacancies in March.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, 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.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme to support workers through to the end of September and experts predict unemployment will ramp up once it ends.

But it is hoped that the economy will bounce back from a record 10% plunge in 2020 as restrictions ease and the vaccination programme continues to roll out, helping soften the blow on the jobs market.

In response to the latest jobs data, Mr Sunak said: “Protecting jobs and the economy has been my main focus since this pandemic began – through the furlough scheme alone we have protected 11.2 million jobs.

“As we progress on our road map to recovery I will continue to put people at the heart of the Government’s response through our Plan for Jobs – supporting and creating jobs across the country.”

Overall unemployment stood at 1.68 million between December and February, down 50,000 on the previous three months, according to the ONS.

Employment was down 73,000 on the quarter at 32.4 million.

The claimant count – another measure that includes people working with low incomes and hours, as well as people who are not working – rose 0.4% month-on-month to 2.7 million in March.