The unemployment rate of the United Kingdom was 4.4 percent in January 2025, unchanged from the previous month. Before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK had relatively low levels of unemployment, comparable with the mid-1970s. Between January 2000 and the most recent month, unemployment was highest in November 2011 when the unemployment rate hit 8.5 percent. Will unemployment continue to rise in 2025? Although low by historic standards, there has been a noticeable uptick in the UK's unemployment rate, with other labor market indicators also pointing to further loosening. In December 2024, the number of job vacancies in the UK, fell to its lowest level since May 2021, while payrolled employment declined by 47,000 compared with November. Whether this is a continuation of a broader cooling of the labor market since 2022, or a reaction to more recent economic developments, such as upcoming tax rises for employers, remains to be seen. Forecasts made in late 2024 suggest that the unemployment rate will remain relatively stable in 2025, averaging out at 4.1 percent, and falling again to four percent in 2026.
Demographics of the unemployed As of the third quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate for men was slightly higher than that of women, at 4.4 percent, compared to 4.1 percent. During the financial crisis at the end of the 2000s, the unemployment rate for women peaked at a quarterly rate of 7.7 percent, whereas for men, the rate was 9.1 percent. Unemployment is also heavily associated with age, and young people in general are far more vulnerable to unemployment than older age groups. In late 2011, for example, the unemployment rate for those aged between 16 and 24 reached 22.3 percent, compared with 8.2 percent for people aged 25 to 34, while older age groups had even lower peaks during this time.

An October 2021 report examined the number of job losses in the out-of-home leisure economy due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United Kingdom in 2020. According to the study's estimates, the food-led subsector suffered the most from within the out-of-home leisure industry, having lost roughly 241 thousand jobs in the first year of the pandemic.

In 2024, the annual unemployment rate of the United Kingdom is expected to be 4.3 percent, compared with four percent in 2023. Unemployment is forecast to fall to 4.1 percent in 2025, before falling again to four percent in 2026. A common indicator of an economy’s relative health, the unemployment rate has generally been falling in the United Kingdom since its 2011 peak of 8.1 percent. Uptick in unemployment in 2023 In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom grew steadily, from just 3.9 percent at the start of 2020, to 5.1 percent by the end of the year. This was followed by a steep decline in unemployment that lasted until August 2022, when the unemployment rate was just 3.5 percent. There was a slight uptick in unemployment following this low, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3 percent the following July. This has been matched by a fall in the number of UK job vacancies, which reached a peak of 1.3 million in May 2022, but has been falling in every subsequent month, with approximately 932,000 vacancies in January 2024. Other UK key economic indicators Although the UK's labor market was quite well protected from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, other parts of the economy took a more severe hit. The initial lockdown measures resulted in a huge fall to UK GDP, in April 2020 which took over a year to reach its pre-pandemic size. Economic growth has remained sluggish ever since the initial recovery, with the UK economy alternating between weak growth and slight contractions. The UK even entered a technical recession at the end of 2023, following two quarters of negative growth. Inflation also skyrocketed from late 2021 onwards, reaching a peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022. Even one year after that peak, inflation has proven stubborn to get down, with a rate of 4.6 percent in October 2023.

There were over 1.54 million unemployed people in the United Kingdom in the three months to January 2025, compared with just over 1.55 million in the previous month. In the provided time, there was a peak of 2.7 million people unemployed in November 2011, and a noticeable uptick in unemployment in 2020. The bump in unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic peaked at almost 1.8 million in December 2020, before falling to a low of 1.2 million in August 2022, before climbing up again to the most recent levels. Government plans to boost UK workforce Although the Labour Party inherited a relatively healthy unemployment rate of around four percent from the previous government, the UK's labor market is less robust than it first appears. The current level of economic inactivity, is seen as the more concerning figure, especially the rising share of people on long-term sick leave. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, at the end of 2019, there were around 2.08 million people economically inactive due to long-term sickness, with this figure increasing by around 740,000 by early 2024. Government plans to address the root cause of these issue, and improve incentives to work, were unveiled at the end of 2024, but may have come at an inopportune time. Labor market signals for 2025 Encouraging people back into work is one thing, making sure there are jobs there is another. Recent data suggests that the UK is continuing to cool off from an overheated labor market in 2022, which at one point saw 1.3 million job vacancies in the UK. Although the current level of job vacancies is at more usual levels, any further falls could spell trouble for the economy. In December 2024, the number of people on UK payrolls fell by 47,000, while the number of redundancies has started to climb. Some UK businesses have also signalled that they have, or plan to, lay off staff due to increased taxes set to come into force in the next financial year.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was highest in Wales, where it was 5.4 percent, followed by England at 4.5 percent, Scotland at 3.8 percent, and 1.6 percent in Northern Ireland, the lowest rate among the four countries of the UK. For all four countries, the peak in unemployment during this period was in the early 2010s. England and Scotland's unemployment rates were highest in Q4 2011 at 8.4 percent and 8.6 percent respectively, with unemployment reaching 9.7 percent in Wales during Q3 2011. Northern Ireland reported its highest unemployment rate in Q1 of 2013 when it reached eight percent. Unemployment ticking up as UK enters 2025 For the United Kingdom as a whole, the unemployment rate was 4.4 percent in November 2024, the joint-highest rate recorded since August 2021. After reaching 8.5 percent in late 2011, unemployment in the UK fell quite consistently for several years, with this recovery interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw unemployment rise to 5.3 percent in late 2020 and early 2021. From this point onwards, however, the labor market bounced back, and was particular strong in 2022 when there were a record number of job vacancies and unemployment fell to as low as 3.6 percent. While the labor market cooled throughout 2023 and 2024, unemployment remained at historically low levels. Overall economy grows but GDP per head falls Throughout the whole of 2024, gross domestic product in the UK grew by 0.9 percent, but in the third quarter of the year, there was no economic growth, followed by the relatively weak growth rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, GDP per head in the UK, declined for a second-consecutive year, and was just 36,977 pounds in 2024, compared with 37,371 pounds in 2022. Inflation, meanwhile, has fallen from the peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, but was still at the relatively high rate of four percent at the start of 2024, with this falling to 2.5 percent by the end of the year.

Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom remained unchanged at 4.40 percent in January. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

There were over 33.9 million people employed in the United Kingdom in the three months to January 2025. This represented a peak for the number of people employed in the country during this provided time period. In general, the number of people employed has consistently increased, with noticeable dips in employment occurring in 2008 due to the global financial crisis, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Labor market hot streak in 2022 Although there was a sharp increase in the UK's unemployment rate in the aftermath of COVID-19, the UK labor market bounced back forcefully after this sudden shock. By the middle of 2022, the UK's unemployment rate had recovered to pre-pandemic levels, while the number of job vacancies in the UK reached record highs. Wage growth was, by this point, growing at a much slower rate than inflation, which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. In the two years since this peak, the UK labor market has cooled slightly; with unemployment reaching 4.4 percent by December 2024, and the number of job vacancies falling to the lowest figures since May 2021. Characteristics of UK workers As of 2024, the majority of UK workers were working in the private sector, at over 27.6 million workers. In the same year the size of the UK's public sector workforce stood at approximately 6.1 million, with over two million of these people working for the UK's National Health Service (NHS), and a further 1.66 million in the public education sector. In the UK's private sector, the industry sector which employed the most people was wholesale and retail, which had a workforce of over 4.9 million people, followed by administrative and support service roles at around 3.1 million.

The youth unemployment rate for those aged between 16 and 24 in the United Kingdom was 14.5 percent in January 2025, compared with 14.7 percent in the previous month. After falling to just 9.2 percent in July 2022, the youth unemployment rate has increased at pace and is almost as high as it was following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Nevertheless, youth unemployment is lower than in the early 2010s, when youth unemployment reached a high of 22.5 percent in November 2011. Almost one million UK youth not in work or education In the fourth quarter of 2024, the number of people aged between 16 and 24 that were not in education, employment, or training (NEET) was 987,000, the highest figure in more than ten years. One of the main reasons for this increase has been the general rise in people being on long-term sick leave since the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached a peak of 2.8 million at the end of 2023. While older adults are still more likely to be on long-term sick, the number of younger workers on long-term sickness has increased more rapidly. In the ten years between 2014 and 2024, the number of 16 to 24-year-olds economically inactive for this reason increased from 138,000 to 271,000.

The economic landscape of the United Kingdom has been significantly shaped by the intertwined issues of Brexit, COVID-19, and their interconnected impacts. Despite the country’s robust and diverse economy, the disruptions caused by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic have created uncertainty and upheaval for both businesses and individuals. Recognizing the magnitude of these challenges, academic literature has directed its attention toward conducting immediate research in this crucial area. This study sets out to investigate key economic factors that have influenced various sectors of the UK economy and have broader economic implications within the context of Brexit and COVID-19. The factors under scrutiny include the unemployment rate, GDP index, earnings, and trade. To accomplish this, a range of data analysis tools and techniques were employed, including the Box-Jenkins method, neural network modeling, Google Trend analysis, and Twitter-sentiment analysis. The analysis encompassed different periods: pre-Brexit (2011-2016), Brexit (2016-2020), the COVID-19 period, and post-Brexit (2020-2021). The findings of the analysis offer intriguing insights spanning the past decade. For instance, the unemployment rate displayed a downward trend until 2020 but experienced a spike in 2021, persisting for a six-month period. Meanwhile, total earnings per week exhibited a gradual increase over time, and the GDP index demonstrated an upward trajectory until 2020 but declined during the COVID-19 period. Notably, trade experienced the most significant decline following both Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the impact of these events exhibited variations across the UK’s four regions and twelve industries. Wales and Northern Ireland emerged as the regions most affected by Brexit and COVID-19, with industries such as accommodation, construction, and wholesale trade particularly impacted in terms of earnings and employment levels. Conversely, industries such as finance, science, and health demonstrated an increased contribution to the UK’s total GDP in the post-Brexit period, indicating some positive outcomes. It is worth highlighting that the impact of these economic factors was more pronounced on men than on women. Among all the variables analyzed, trade suffered the most severe consequences in the UK. By early 2021, the macroeconomic situation in the country was characterized by a simple dynamic: economic demand rebounded at a faster pace than supply, leading to shortages, bottlenecks, and inflation. The findings of this research carry significant value for the UK government and businesses, empowering them to adapt and innovate based on forecasts to navigate the challenges posed by Brexit and COVID-19. By doing so, they can promote long-term economic growth and effectively address the disruptions caused by these interrelated issues.

London had the highest unemployment rate among regions of the United Kingdom in the fourth quarter of 2024 at 6.1 percent, while for the UK as a whole, the unemployment rate was 4.4 percent. Four other regions also had an unemployment rate higher than the national average, while Northern Ireland had the lowest unemployment rate in this time period, at two percent. Labor market recovery after COVID-19 After reaching historically low levels of unemployment in 2019, there was a noticeable spike in the UK unemployment rate in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. After peaking at 5.1 percent in late 2020, the unemployment rate declined throughout 2021 and 2022. High levels of job vacancies, resignations, and staff shortages in 2022, were all indicative of a very tight labor market that year, but all these measures have started to point in the direction of a slightly looser labor market. UK's regional economic divide While the North of England has some of the country’s largest cities, the sheer size and economic power of London is much larger than the UK's other urban agglomerations. Partly, due to the size of London, the United Kingdom is one of Europe’s most centralized counties, and there is a clear divide between the economic prospects of north and south England. In 2022, for example, the gross domestic product per head in London was 57,338 British pounds, far higher than the UK average of 33,593 pounds, and significantly larger than North East England, the region with the lowest GDP per head at 24,172 pounds.

Labour Force Survey summary data, including employment, unemployment and economic inactivity levels and rates, UK, rolling three-monthly figures published monthly, non-seasonally adjusted. These are official statistics in development.

In January 2025, the employment rate in the United Kingdom was 74.9 percent, up from 74.7 percent in the same period a year earlier. After almost dropping below 70 percent in 2011, the employment rate in the United Kingdom started to climb at a relatively fast pace, peaking in early 2020. Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the employment declined to 74.6 percent by January 2021. Although not quite at pre-pandemic levels, the employment rate has since recovered. Hot UK labor market cools in 2023 Although unemployment in the UK spiked at 5.1 percent in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it fell throughout most of 2022, to just 3.6 percent in August 2022. Around that time, the number of job vacancies in the UK was also at quite high levels, reaching a peak of 1.3 million by May 2022. The strong labor market put employees in quite a strong position, perhaps encouraging the high number of resignations that took place around that time. While wage growth has also been strong since 2022, these gains were cancelled-out for a long period between 2021 and 2023 when inflation grew faster than wages. By July 2023, unemployment had bounced back to 4.3 percent, while the number of job vacancies fell below one million in August 2023 for the first time since August 2021. UK in recession at end of 2023 Although the UK labor market has loosened since 2022, it has generally remained in good health, with unemployment low by historical standards. Inflation also fell throughout 2023, from 10.1 percent at the beginning of the year, to four percent by December. Getting inflation down to more acceptable levels, however, came at the expense of raising the Bank of England's already high-interest rate throughout 2023. The knock-on effect of higher borrowing costs likely did little to spur economic growth that year, with GDP growing by just 0.1 percent in 2023. Even this meager economic growth was only achieved due to growth in the first half of the year. In the second half of 2023, the economy shrank in two consecutive quarters, meaning the UK is officially in recession heading into a probable election year.

Main estimates from the Over 50s Lifestyle Study for Great Britain, wave 2 sub-group: reasons for leaving and returning to work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Includes data covering future plans, caring responsibilities, savings and sources of retirement funding, cost of living and partner working status.

The early 2020s saw a significant spike in the UK's unemployment rate due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the UK had recorded its lowest monthly unemployment figures in almost half a century. It was not until early 2022 when unemployment figures returned to pre-pandemic levels, although they continued on a generally upwards trajectory throughout 2023 and 2024.

In the three months to February 2025, there were approximately 816,000 job vacancies in the UK, compared with 914,000 during the same period a year earlier. The number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom reached a record high of 1.3 million in the three months to May 2022, with the number of vacancies steadily falling since then. During the provided time period, the number of job vacancies fell to its lowest levels in the months leading to June 2020, at just 328,000, at the height of COVID-19 restrictions. Tight labor market beginning to loosen After weathering the economic storm of COVID-19, the UK labor market has been reasonably healthy since 2021. The unemployment rate, which reached 5.1 percent in late 2020, declined in the following months, to a post-pandemic low of 3.5 percent by August 2022. Since that point, however, the unemployment rate has crept up, and was 4.4 percent in November 2024. Resignations have also started to decline, after reaching a peak of 442,000 in the second quarter of 2022, there were just 181,000 in the third quarter of 2024. Which industries are experiencing staff shortages? The percentage of businesses reporting a staff shortage in the UK reached 15.7 percent in September 2022, before falling to just 9.7 percent by October 2023, another indication of a loosening labor market. According to data from that month, approximately 1 in 4 UK businesses in the accommodation and food services had a shortage of staff, the highest of any sector, followed by human health and social work at 18.4 percent, and manufacturing at 17.6 percent. Many of the recent struggles of Britain's National Health Service are directly related to staff shortages, with the public seeing a shortage of doctors and nurses, and overworked staff as some of the main problems facing the NHS.

Employment status and reasons for leaving and returning to work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: future plans, caring responsibilities, savings and sources of retirement funding, cost of living and partner working status. Main estimates from the Over 50s Lifestyle Study for Great Britain, wave 2, 10 to 29 August 2022.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) asks a sole adult in a random sample of households about their, or their household's, experience of crime victimisation in the previous 12 months. These are recorded in the victim form data file (VF). A wide range of questions are then asked, covering demographics and crime-related subjects such as attitudes to the police and the criminal justice system (CJS). These variables are contained within the non-victim form (NVF) data file. In 2009, the survey was extended to children aged 10-15 years old; one resident of that age range was also selected from the household and asked about their experience of crime and other related topics. The first set of children's data covered January-December 2009 and is held separately under SN 6601. From 2009-2010, the children's data cover the same period as the adult data and are included with the main study.

The Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) became operational on 20 May 2020. It was a replacement for the face-to-face CSEW, which was suspended on 17 March 2020 because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It was set up with the intention of measuring the level of crime during the pandemic. As the pandemic continued throughout the 2020/21 survey year, questions have been raised as to whether the year ending March 2021 TCSEW is comparable with estimates produced in earlier years by the face-to-face CSEW. The ONS Comparability between the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales and the face-to-face Crime Survey for England and Wales report explores those factors that may have a bearing on the comparability of estimates between the TCSEW and the former CSEW. These include survey design, sample design, questionnaire changes and modal changes.

More general information about the CSEW may be found on the ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales web page and for the previous BCS, from the GOV.UK BCS Methodology web page.

History - the British Crime Survey

The CSEW was formerly known as the British Crime Survey (BCS), and has been in existence since 1981. The 1982 and 1988 BCS waves were also conducted in Scotland (data held separately under SNs 4368 and 4599). Since 1993, separate Scottish Crime and Justice Surveys have been conducted. Up to 2001, the BCS was conducted biennially. From April 2001, the Office for National Statistics took over the survey and it became the CSEW. Interviewing was then carried out continually and reported on in financial year cycles. The crime reference period was altered to accommodate this.

Secure Access CSEW data
In addition to the main survey, a series of questions covering drinking behaviour, drug use, self-offending, gangs and personal security, and intimate personal violence (IPV) (including stalking and sexual victimisation) are asked of adults via a laptop-based self-completion module (questions may vary over the years). Children aged 10-15 years also complete a separate self-completion questionnaire. The questionnaires are included in the main documentation, but the data are only available under Secure Access conditions (see SN 7280), not with the main study. In addition, from 2011 onwards, lower-level geographic variables are also available under Secure Access conditions (see SN 7311).

New methodology for capping the number of incidents from 2017-18
The CSEW datasets available from 2017-18 onwards are based on a new methodology of capping the number of incidents at the 98th percentile. Incidence variables names have remained consistent with previously supplied data but due to the fact they are based on the new 98th percentile cap, and old datasets are not, comparability has been lost with years prior to 2012-2013. More information can be found in the 2017-18 User Guide (see SN 8464) and the article ‘Improving victimisation estimates derived from the Crime Survey for England and Wales’.

Main Topics:

The overall length of the survey needed to be shortened for telephone operation from an average of around 50 minutes down to 25 minutes. As a result, it was felt that the survey should only carry questions required to provide key estimates of crime (victimisation and prevalence rates of crimes recorded by the survey during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the previous 12 months), or those questions which would provide essential information during the pandemic.
Some questions considered sufficiently important to measure during the pandemic were omitted from the final questionnaire following ethical consideration. As a result, estimates are not available in relation to sexual assault, partner abuse or abuse during childhood. This includes the preferred measures of domestic abuse and domestic violence.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (formerly known as the ONS Opinions Survey or Omnibus) is an omnibus survey that began in 1990, collecting data on a range of subjects commissioned by both the ONS internally and external clients (limited to other government departments, charities, non-profit organisations and academia).Data are collected from one individual aged 16 or over, selected from each sampled private household. Personal data include data on the individual, their family, address, household, income and education, plus responses and opinions on a variety of subjects within commissioned modules. The questionnaire collects timely data for research and policy analysis evaluation on the social impacts of recent topics of national importance, such as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the cost of living, on individuals and households in Great Britain. From April 2018 to November 2019, the design of the OPN changed from face-to-face to a mixed-mode design (online first with telephone interviewing where necessary). Mixed-mode collection allows respondents to complete the survey more flexibly and provides a more cost-effective service for customers. In March 2020, the OPN was adapted to become a weekly survey used to collect data on the social impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the lives of people of Great Britain. These data are held in the Secure Access study, SN 8635, ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, Covid-19 Module, 2020-2022: Secure Access. From August 2021, as coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions were lifting across Great Britain, the OPN moved to fortnightly data collection, sampling around 5,000 households in each survey wave to ensure the survey remains sustainable. The OPN has since expanded to include questions on other topics of national importance, such as health and the cost of living. For more information about the survey and its methodology, see the ONS OPN Quality and Methodology Information webpage.Secure Access Opinions and Lifestyle Survey dataOther Secure Access OPN data cover modules run at various points from 1997-2019, on Census religion (SN 8078), cervical cancer screening (SN 8080), contact after separation (SN 8089), contraception (SN 8095), disability (SNs 8680 and 8096), general lifestyle (SN 8092), illness and activity (SN 8094), and non-resident parental contact (SN 8093). See Opinions and Lifestyle Survey: Secure Access for details. Main Topics:Each month's questionnaire consists of two elements: core questions, covering demographic information, are asked each month together with non-core questions that vary from month to month. The non-core questions for this month were: Televisions (Module 177): this module was asked on behalf of the Department of National Heritage, to ascertain how many households have a television that did not work at the time and did not have another TV set that did work, and whether they intended to get the broken television set repaired in the next seven days after the interview took place. ACAS awareness (Module 187): this module was asked on behalf of ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, who wished to know how many people had heard of them and how many had a realistic idea of what sort of organisation they are and what they do. The module was asked of all respondents in paid employment. Second homes (Module 4): this module was asked on behalf of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). It has appeared in previous Omnibus surveys in a slightly different form. The module queried respondents on ownership of a second home by any member of the household and reasons for having the second home. Expectation of house price changes (Module 137): this module asks respondents' views on changes to house prices in the next year and next five years. Fire safety (Module 33): this module covers fire safety and was asked in connection with Fire Safety Week. Questions assess awareness of fire risks and fire safety measures the respondent has taken. Lone mothers (Module 184): this module was asked on behalf of the Department of Social Security. The questions were taken from a British attitudes survey and compare attitudes towards mothers living in couples with children of varying ages with attitudes towards lone mothers. Smoking (Module 130): this module assesses people's smoking habits, past and present, attitudes to smoking in different scenarios, and awareness of cigarette advertising. Unemployment risk (Module 183): this module was asked on behalf of the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University. The questions were designed to investigate respondents' assessment of the risks of being unemployed, their attitude towards unemployment insurance and their recent experience of unemployment. Contraception (Module 170): the Special Licence version of this module is held under SN 6475. PEPs and TESSAs (Module 185): this module was asked on behalf of the Inland Revenue, to gain more information about the distribution of PEPs and TESSAs and in particular the extent to which the two groups overlap. Multi-stage stratified random sample Face-to-face interview 1997 ACCIDENTS ADULTS ADVERTISING ADVICE AGE ARBITRATION ASTHMA ATTITUDES BANK ACCOUNTS CANCER CARDIOVASCULAR DISE... CAUSES OF DEATH CHILD BENEFITS CHILD CARE CHILD DAY CARE CHILDREN CINEMA COHABITATION COLOUR TELEVISION R... COMPANIES CONFLICT RESOLUTION COOKING EQUIPMENT COSTS COT DEATHS COURTS CREDIT CARD USE CULTURAL EVENTS Consumption and con... DIABETES DISEASES ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC VALUE EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT EMPLOYEES EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS EMPLOYMENT HISTORY EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES ETHNIC GROUPS EXPENDITURE Economic conditions... FAMILY MEMBERS FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRE PROTECTION EQU... FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT FURNISHED ACCOMMODA... Family life and mar... GENDER GENERAL PRACTITIONERS GRANTS HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD HEALTH HEALTH CONSULTATIONS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS HEARING HEATING SYSTEMS HOLIDAYS HOME CONTENTS INSUR... HOME OWNERSHIP HOME SELLING HOSPITAL SERVICES HOURS OF WORK HOUSEHOLDS HOUSES HOUSING TENURE HUMAN SETTLEMENT Health behaviour Housing ILL HEALTH INCOME INCOME TAX INDUSTRIES INFLATION INFORMATION MATERIALS INFORMATION SOURCES INHERITANCE INSURANCE INTEREST FINANCE INVESTMENT Income JOB HUNTING JUDGMENTS LAW LABOUR RELATIONS LANDLORDS Labour relations co... MANAGERS MARITAL STATUS MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION MASS MEDIA MEDICAL CENTRES MEDICAL INSURANCE MEDICAL PRESCRIPTIONS MORTGAGES MOTHERS MOTOR VEHICLES ONE PARENT FAMILIES ORGANIZATIONS PARENTS PART TIME EMPLOYMENT PASSIVE SMOKING PENSIONS PERSONNEL PLACE OF RESIDENCE PRESCHOOL CHILDREN PRICES PRIVATE SECTOR PUBLIC HOUSES PUBLIC INFORMATION PUBLIC SERVICE BUIL... RADIO RECRUITMENT RENTED ACCOMMODATION RESPIRATORY TRACT D... RESTAURANTS RETIREMENT SAVINGS SCHOOLCHILDREN SCHOOLS SECOND HOMES SELF EMPLOYED SHOPS SICK LEAVE SMOKING SMOKING CESSATION SMOKING RESTRICTIONS SOCIAL HOUSING SOCIAL SECURITY BEN... SPORTING EVENTS SPOUSE S ECONOMIC A... SPOUSE S EMPLOYMENT SPOUSES STATE AID SUPERVISORS Social behaviour an... TELEPHONE HELP LINES TELEVISION ADVERTISING TELEVISION RECEIVERS TERMINATION OF SERVICE TIED HOUSING TOBACCO TRAINING TRAVEL UNEMPLOYMENT UNFURNISHED ACCOMMO... UNMARRIED MOTHERS UNWAGED WORKERS Unemployment VOCATIONAL EDUCATIO... WAGES WORKERS RIGHTS WORKING MOTHERS WORKPLACE property and invest...

Background
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a unique source of information using international definitions of employment and unemployment and economic inactivity, together with a wide range of related topics such as occupation, training, hours of work and personal characteristics of household members aged 16 years and over. It is used to inform social, economic and employment policy. The Annual Population Survey, also held at the UK Data Archive, is derived from the LFS.

The LFS was first conducted biennially from 1973-1983, then annually between 1984 and 1991, comprising a quarterly survey conducted throughout the year and a 'boost' survey in the spring quarter. From 1992 it moved to a quarterly cycle with a sample size approximately equivalent to that of the previous annual data. Northern Ireland was also included in the survey from December 1994. Further information on the background to the QLFS may be found in the documentation.

The UK Data Service also holds a Secure Access version of the QLFS (see below); household datasets; two-quarter and five-quarter longitudinal datasets; LFS datasets compiled for Eurostat; and some additional annual Northern Ireland datasets.

LFS Documentation
The documentation available from the Archive to accompany LFS datasets largely consists of the latest version of each user guide volume alongside the appropriate questionnaire for the year concerned (the latest questionnaire available covers July-September 2022). Volumes are updated periodically, so users are advised to check the latest documents on the ONS Labour Force Survey - User Guidance pages before commencing analysis. This is especially important for users of older QLFS studies, where information and guidance in the user guide documents may have changed over time.

LFS response to COVID-19

From April 2020 to May 2022, additional non-calendar quarter LFS microdata were made available to cover the pandemic period. The first additional microdata to be released covered February to April 2020 and the final non-calendar dataset covered March-May 2022. Publication then returned to calendar quarters only. Within the additional non-calendar COVID-19 quarters, pseudonymised variables Casenop and Hserialp may contain a significant number of missing cases (set as -9). These variables may not be available in full for the additional COVID-19 datasets until the next standard calendar quarter is produced. The income weight variable, PIWT, is not available in the non-calendar quarters, although the person weight (PWT) is included. Please consult the documentation for full details.

Occupation data for 2021 and 2022 data files

The ONS has identified an issue with the collection of some occupational data in 2021 and 2022 data files in a number of their surveys. While they estimate any impacts will be small overall, this will affect the accuracy of the breakdowns of some detailed (four-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)) occupations, and data derived from them. Further information can be found in the ONS article published on 11 July 2023: Revision of miscoded occupational data in the ONS Labour Force Survey, UK: January 2021 to September 2022.

2024 Reweighting

In February 2024, reweighted person-level data from July-September 2022 onwards were released. Up to July-September 2023, only the person weight was updated (PWT23); the income weight remains at 2022 (PIWT22). The 2023 income weight (PIWT23) was included from the October-December 2023 quarter. Users are encouraged to read the ONS methodological note of 5 February, Impact of reweighting on Labour Force Survey key indicators: 2024, which includes important information on the 2024 reweighting exercise.

End User Licence and Secure Access QLFS data

Two versions of the QLFS are available from UKDS. One is available under the standard End User Licence (EUL) agreement, and the other is a Secure Access version. The EUL version includes country and Government Office Region geography, 3-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and 3-digit industry group for main, second and last job (from July-September 2015, 4-digit industry class is available for main job only).

The Secure Access version contains more detailed variables relating to:

• age: single year of age, year and month of birth, age completed full-time education and age obtained highest qualification, age of oldest dependent child and age of youngest dependent child
• family unit and household: including a number of variables concerning the number of dependent children in the family according to their ages, relationship to head of household and relationship to head of family
• nationality and country of origin
• finer detail geography: including county, unitary/local authority, place of work, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) and NUTS3 regions, and whether lives and works in same local authority district, and other categories;
• health: including main health problem, and current and past health problems
• education and apprenticeship: including numbers and subjects of various qualifications and variables concerning apprenticeships
• industry: including industry, industry class and industry group for main, second and last job, and industry made redundant from
• occupation: including 5-digit industry subclass and 4-digit SOC for main, second and last job and job made redundant from
• system variables: including week number when interview took place and number of households at address
• other additional detailed variables may also be included.

The Secure Access datasets (SNs 6727 and 7674) have more restrictive access conditions than those made available under the standard EUL. Prospective users will need to gain ONS Accredited Researcher status, complete an extra application form and demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the additional variables. Users are strongly advised to first obtain the standard EUL version of the data to see if they are sufficient for their research requirements.

Latest edition information

For the second edition (January 2025), the 2018 person weight (PWT18) was replaced with the 2024 person weight (PWT24). Only the person weight has been replaced with a 2024 version; the 2018 income weight (PIWT18) remains.

Regional popularity of Brexit and COVID-19 under business and industrial category.