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.

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.

In the three months to October 2025, there were approximately 723,000 job vacancies in the UK, down from 722,000 in September 2025, and the period with the fewest number of job vacancies since April 2021. 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 was reasonably healthy between 2021 and 2024. An economic trend dubbed "The Great Resignation" saw the UK record 446,000 resignations in the second quarter of 2022, with many likely encouraged by the strong labor market at the time. Since that point, however, the UK unemployment rate has steadily crept up, reaching a post-pandemic high of five percent in September 2025. 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 7.5 percent as of October 2025, another indication of a loosening labor market. According to data from that month, approximately 18 percent of businesses in the education sector had a shortage of staff, the highest of any industry. Education was followed by accommodation and food services, with 13.6 percent of businesses in this sector reporting a staff shortage.

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

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.

As of the third quarter of 2025, there were estimated to be 127,000 job vacancies in the human health and social work activities industry sector in the United Kingdom, the most of any industry. The sector with the fewest number of job vacancies in this month was mining and quarrying, with only one thousand estimated vacancies.

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Job Vacancies in the United Kingdom increased to 723 Thousand in September from 722 Thousand in August of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Job Vacancies - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

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.

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.

Workforce jobs by industry, UK countries and English regions, published quarterly, seasonally adjusted.

Self-employment jobs by industry and sex, UK, published quarterly, not seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey data are official statistics in development.

In 2025, there were over **** million filled jobs in human health and social work in the United Kingdom, the most of any industry. In wholesale and retail, there were around *** million filled jobs, making it the second most common industry in terms of employment.

Employment placement agencies in Europe’s revenue is anticipated to contract at a compound annual rate of 9% over the five years through 2025 to €65.4 billion. The COVID-19 outbreak tanked business confidence and expansion plans because of economic uncertainty after months of global lockdowns, forcing hiring freezes in a tricky time for employment agencies. 2022 marked a resurgence for agencies, with companies entering a hiring frenzy post-pandemic. The labour market is cooling in 2025 amid greater global uncertainty with US tariffs impacting business confidence. Still, employment across Europe remains high. According to Eurostat data, employment in the EU reached a record peak of 75.8% in 2024. Companies enjoyed a post-COVID-19 boom in hiring, as the economy reopened and companies began to look to expand thanks to improved business confidence, which kept employment agencies busy. The labour market has proved resilient against the economic background of high interest rates and high inflation in recent years, but remains tight with several unfilled vacancies. Vacancies have dipped from the sharp rise post-COVID-19 when companies unfroze hiring decisions. Available vacancies are proving difficult to fill in 2025, indicating a skills mismatch between job seekers and roles that agencies are struggling to negotiate. Several countries attempt to address long-standing labour shortages to ameliorate professional mobility and offer training courses for in-demand skills through agencies. France, for example, is addressing youth unemployment through upskilling training programmes. Public sector hiring in Germany and Spain in health and education also pushes revenue growth for agencies compared to stunted private sector demand. Revenue is expected to rise by 8.7% in 2025 amid job cuts in the technology sector. Revenue is projected to swell at a compound annual rate of 13.2% over the five years through 2030 to reach €121.6 billion. Agencies will continue to target revenue growth by elevating their online presence, specialising their services towards more niche sectors and targeting executives and upper management positions. Technological developments remain a threat to recruiters, with HR AI systems like Paradox able to scan networking platforms such as LinkedIn for candidates. Companies’ in-house HR teams are expanding too. The sustainability sector looks to be a hot property job market to target, but potential shortages in both high and low-skilled occupations driven by employment growth in STEM professions and healthcare will create hurdles in the hiring process in other sectors.

Employment placement agencies' revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 6.9% over the five years through 2025-26 to £24 billion. 2020-21 was a year to forget for employment agencies, as the COVID-19 pandemic strongly discouraged hiring activity, denting agencies’ revenue. Evidencing this, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the number of UK job vacancies posted reached a historic low of 340,000 over the three months through June 2020. However, increasing hiring activity signalled a return to business for agencies in the two years through 2022-23. A recruitment boom in the wake of the pandemic resulted in record vacancies, signalling a hiring frenzy and driving strong revenue growth for recruitment companies. Following this, though, the job market began to slow down in 2023-24 with hiring demand abating, with this trend worsening in the two years through 2025-26, causing revenue to slip. Some agencies have struggled. A fall in the number of permanent appointments has been behind a loss in revenue for many agencies. A reluctance to move jobs and a pause on large-scale hiring is reducing the amount of business arriving on recruiters' desks. The profit of most agencies is taking a hit in 2025-26, as business from clients has dropped, dampening net fees. Businesses’ economic concerns have kept employers from expanding their workforces in 2025-26. The hike to National Insurance contributions for employers, sticky inflation and slowly falling interest rates are all weighing on hiring activity. Therefore, growth has halted from the highs seen in the two years through 2022-23, with revenue slated to dip by 4% in 2025-26. Recruiters are focused on cutting their costs until business picks up. Revenue is anticipated to climb at a compound rate of 2.6% over the five years through 2030-31 to £27.3 billion. Although inflation remains sticky – it stood at 3.8% in August 2025 – interest rates continue to fall, which could restore some confidence in the job market and help spark a greater wave of hiring. Online job search websites will likely remain a threat to recruiters, but the personalised nature of placement services ensures recruiters will remain. Roles in sustainability and tech will continue to grow in line with the pressing issues of climate change and cybersecurity threats.

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.

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.

The Temporary-Employment Placement Agencies industry revenue is forecast to inch upwards at a compound annual rate of 2% to £59.4 billion over the five years through 2025-26. The COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of the previous five-year period meant key employers of temporary workers in sports and music event spaces completely shut their doors, and businesses froze hiring, reducing clients for agencies. Sign-ups for temporary employment declined, hitting revenue in 2020-21. Companies pressed play immediately on hiring as the economy reopened in 2021-22 with record vacancies, particularly in the service sector, boosting revenue for recruiters since. A tight labour market is encouraging employers to rely on temporary-employment placement agencies. Revenue is expected to rise by 0.5% in 2025-26. Rises in the National Living Wage (NLW) have disincentivised hiring additional staff to some extent. The NLW grew again to £12.21 in April 2025, raising the cost of temporary hires. With economic uncertainty continuing to dampen employer and candidate confidence in the two years through 2025-26, most recently stemming from the increase in employer national insurance contributions, businesses have slowed their hiring activity, disrupting agencies since there are fewer jobs to fill. This has dented the profit of many agencies, which have had to cut costs by laying off employees throughout 2024-25 and 2025-26. Inactivity is another mounting problem that recruiters are being confronted with. The number of available temporary employment positions has overall remained subdued due to widespread business uncertainty amid an inflationary environment, Brexit-related recruiting challenges and high interest rates, limiting industry revenue growth. Still, temporary placements have fared better than permanent positions. Agency revenue is anticipated to climb over the five years through 2030-31 at a compound annual rate of 3.2% to £69.5 billion. Legislation relating to wage rates will adversely affect agencies, with a rising National Minimum Wage dampening demand for low-wage temporary employees. A talent shortage in the UK workforce will continue to challenge companies looking to fill vacancies, which are set to remain historically high despite gradually falling. Employers will keep turning to placement agencies to track and identify the right candidates. The gig economy is set to thrive through 2030-31, with the ONS anticipating 14.9 million participants by 2026, another positive signal for temporary-employment placement agencies.