Budget signs look good for Sunak, but is the jobs market unhealthy?

Analysis: Economy appears to have avoided worst Covid damage, but most vacancies are in low-paid roles

• UK job vacancies hit record amid Brexit and Covid staff shortages

Job vacancies are soaring, unemployment is down and redundancies remained low ahead of the furlough scheme ending. Two weeks before delivering his landmark post-lockdown budget, the signals appear at first glance to be encouraging for Rishi Sunak.

On the surface, Britain's labour market seems to have avoided the worst damage from Covid-19. The number of workers on company payrolls has risen back above pre-pandemic levels to reach a record 29.2 million, while unemployment per job vacancy has collapsed.