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.

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.

Unemployment Rate in France increased to 7.70 percent in the third quarter of 2025 from 7.60 percent in the second quarter of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - France Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The OECD Employment and Labour Market Statistics provide detailed annual information the employment and labour market for the period 1950/60 onwards for all OECD countries (where data is available).
The OECD Employment and Labour Market Statistics includes a range of annual labour market statistics and indicators broken down by sex and age as well as information about part-time and short-time workers, job tenure, hours worked, unemployment duration, trade union, employment protection legislation, minimum wages, labour market programmes for OECD countries and non-member economies.
These data were first provided by the UK Data Service in February 2015.

Main Topics:

• administrative data
• age dependency ratio
• age groups
• age structure
• agriculture
• armed force
• average salary
• average tenure s
• average wages
• births
• broad economic activities
• civil employment
• civilian labour
• collective dismissals
• constant prices
• current prices
• death rates
• dependent employment
• discouraged workers
• dismissals
• duration of unemployment
• earning-dispersion measures
• earnings
• employee density
• employee turnover
• employee union
• employees
• employment
• employment protection legislation
• employment ratio
• employment status
• exchange rate
• finance
• full-time
• full-year equivalent employee
• gender
• gross earnings
• health
• incidents
• independent workers
• industry
• Involuntary part time workers
• job tenure
• jobs
• labour
• labour force
• labour force forecasts
• labour market
• labour market fluidity
• labour market programmes
• labour regulation
• low pay incidence
• median wages
• membership
• migration rates
• minimum wages
• national legislation
• natural increase rates
• pension age
• population
• population baseline
• population estimates females
• population projections
• PPP
• professional status
• real estate
• rigidness
• salary earner ratio
• salary earners
• self-employed
• services
• short-time workers
• standardised age groups
• statistics
• strict regulation
• strictness of legislation
• survey data
• synthetic indicators
• total employment
• total increase rates
• trade union
• trade union members
• transport
• turnover rate
• unemployment
• union members
• unpaid family workers
• unpaid workers
• vital statistics
• weekly hours
• working age ratio