Job vacancies in the UK fell for the eighth month in a row as companies blamed economic pressures for holding back on hiring new staff.
The official figures come a day ahead of Wednesday's Budget when the chancellor is expected to set out plans to encourage people back into work.
The number of jobs on offer fell by 51,000 between December and February, latest figures indicate.
Despite the drop, the number of job vacancies remains high at 1.1 million.
The rate of economic activity - people aged between 16 to 64 who are not in work and not seeking a job - also dipped to 21.3% between November and January.
This was driven by younger people aged between 16 to 24 either getting jobs or looking for work.
James Reed, chairman of recruitment firm Reed, said that while there was a fall in new jobs "it's not cause to panic".
He told the BBC's Today programme: "Actually there are over 300,000 more vacancies than there were this time pre-pandemic, three years ago, so the labour market is pretty buoyant still which is surprising many people."
Source: BBC
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