Reuters reports that job search website Adzuna said that online job adverts in Britain returned to pre-pandemic levels last week, boosted by pubs and restaurants looking for staff as they prepared to partially reopen.

Total online job ads hit 100% of their February 2020 average level on April 8, a rise of three percentage points from a week earlier, Adzuna said.

Hospitality and catering job ads rose by 10 percentage points to 58% of their February 2020 levels as restaurants, cafes and pubs prepared to reopen for outdoor customers on April 12, Adzuna said.

"We're not back to normal yet but these are really promising signs," Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said. "There are still some hard yards to be fought and the big unknown is what will happen when the furlough scheme is wound down."