In the 3rd quarter of 2025, the employment rate in the United Kingdom was 75 percent, down from 75.3 percent in the previous quarter. After almost dropping to 70.1 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, employment declined to 74.6 percent by January 2021. Although not quite at pre-pandemic levels, the employment rate has since recovered. Labor market trouble in 2025? Although unemployment in the UK spiked at 5.3 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. Since 2023, however, the previously hot labor market has cooled, with unemployment reaching 4.6 percent in April 2025 and job vacancies falling to a four-year low of 736,000 in May 2025. Furthermore, the number of employees on UK payrolls has fallen by 227,500 in the first five months of the year, indicating that 2025 will be a tough one for the labor market. Headline economic measures revised in early 2025 Along with the unemployment rate, the UK's inflation rate is also expected to be higher than initially thought in 2025, reaching a rate of 3.2 percent for the year. The economy will also grow at a slower pace of one percent rather than the initial prediction of two percent. Though these negative trends are not expected to continue in the long term, the current government has already expended significant political capital on unpopular decisions, such as the cutting of Winter Fuel Payments to pensioners in 2024. As of June 2025, they are almost as unpopular as the previous government, with a net approval rating of -52 percent.

Employment Rate in the United Kingdom decreased to 75 percent in September from 75.10 percent in August of 2025. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Employment Rate- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Employment by industry and sex, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

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.

As of the third quarter of 2025, the employment rate of England stood at 75.4 percent, the highest employment rate of the four countries of the United Kingdom. By contrast, Northern Ireland had the lowest employment rate, at 71.4 percent.

The unemployment rate of the United Kingdom was five percent in September 2025, up from 4.8 percent in the previous month, and the highest rate of unemployment since 2021. Before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK had relatively low levels of unemployment. 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.

Employment levels and rates by country of birth and nationality, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom increased to 5 percent in September from 4.80 percent in August of 2025. 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.

39.8% of workers from the Indian ethnic group were in 'professional' jobs in 2021 – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups in this role.

There were almost 34.2 million people employed in the United Kingdom in the three months to September 2025. 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 that 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.

As of the third quarter of 2025, the employment rate in the United Kingdom was highest among 35 to 49-year-old's, with ** percent of that age group employed. In the same quarter, approximately **** percent of over 65s were employed, a peak for this provided time period, while the employment rate for 16 to 24s was **** percent, one of the lowest rates for this age group.

Labour market activity by nationality, country of birth and age, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

There were over 1.79 million unemployed people in the United Kingdom in the three months to September 2025, compared with just over 1.74 million in the previous month. In the provided time period, 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 then 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 issues 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 enough jobs 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.

Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity levels and rates by age group, UK, rolling three-monthly figures, seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

Employment by age and sex for UK regions and countries, rolling three-monthly figures published monthly, not seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey.

This dataset provides values for EMPLOYMENT RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group in 2021, 16.2% of workers were self-employed, which is the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups.

In 2025, the annual unemployment rate of the United Kingdom is expected to be *** percent, compared with *** percent in 2024. Unemployment is forecast to fall to *** percent in 2026, gradually declining to *** percent by 2028. In the UK's last government budget in October 2024, the country's unemployment rate for 2025 was forecast to average out at *** percent, but this was increased to *** percent in the "Spring Statement" on public finances in March 2025. Uptick in unemployment after falling to historic lows A common indicator of an economy’s relative health, the unemployment rate in the UK generally fell throughout most of the 2010s, after reaching *** percent in late 2011. After a sudden increase in unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a steep decline that lasted until August 2022, when the unemployment rate was just *** percent. There was then a rise in unemployment from 2023 onwards, which continued throughout 2024 and into 2025. This has been matched by a fall in UK job vacancies, which peaked at *** million in May 2022, but has been falling in most months since then, with approximately ******* vacancies in February 2025. Revisions to GDP and inflation for 2025 Since the global financial crisis of the late 2000s, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK's economic growth has been poor, with the UK alternating between weak growth and slight contractions. For 2025, the UK economy is set to grow by just *** percent, a downgrade from *** percent predicted in late 2024. Inflation, which skyrocketed from late 2021 onwards, reached a peak of **** percent in October 2022, and although down to more usual levels by 2024, is expected to rise in 2025, reaching around *** percent by the second half of the year.

Key information about United Kingdom Labour Force Participation Rate

• United Kingdom Labour Force Participation Rate remained the same rate at 63.9 % in Aug 2025, compared with 63.9 % in the previous month.
• UK Labour Force Participation Rate is updated monthly, available from Jan 2011 to Aug 2025, with an average rate of 63.9 % .
• The data reached the an all-time high of 64.6 % in Jan 2020 and a record low of 62.7 % in Dec 2023.
• UK Labour Force Participation Rate is reported by reported by Office for National Statistics.
• In the latest reports, UK Population reached 69.5 million people in Dec 2025.
• Unemployment Rate of UK increased to 5.0 % in Aug 2025.
• The country's Monthly Earnings stood at 3,960.0 USD in Sep 2025.

Earnings and employment statistics from Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI), UK, NUTS 1, 2 and 3 areas and local authorities, monthly, seasonally adjusted.