Building leads jobs rebound as employment in construction surges 80%

Employment in construction has surged 80% and in food service and hotels 43% since the depth of the crisis in early 2012, according to official figures which show there are now over 2.25m people working in the economy.

Construction and food service, along with retail, suffered the worst shakeouts during the banking and economic crisis when the unemployment rate soared to peak at 15.1% in the early months of 2012.