The number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 108,000 between December and January to 29.5 million, the Office for National Statistics said.
Sam Beckett, head of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “The number of employees on payrolls rose again in January 2022 and is now well above pre-pandemic levels.
“However, our labour force survey shows the number of people in employment overall is well below where it was before Covid-19 hit.
“This is because there are now far fewer self-employed people.
“The survey also shows that unemployment has fallen again and is now only fractionally above where it was before the pandemic.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Our £400 billion economic plan has protected our jobs market through the pandemic and it is now healthier than most could have hoped for.
“Payrolled employee numbers are at a record high and redundancies are at an all-time low thanks to our plan for jobs.
“We’re continuing to help more people into work and are providing support for the cost of living worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next.”
