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.

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.

The number of people unemployed in the United Kingdom was **** million in the fourth quarter of 2024, falling from a recent peak of **** million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Unemployment is expected to reach around **** million in the first half of 2025, before gradually falling to **** million by 2027.

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.

The statistic shows the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2024. The UK's unemployment rate decreased to 4.11 percent in 2024. Unemployment and the economy of the United Kingdom The global financial crisis of 2008 left many nations with high inflation and increasing unemployment rates. The United Kingdom, however, has attempted and successfully lowered the unemployment rate since 2009. The UK is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G8, the G20, NATO, and World Trade Organization. It is therefore one of the biggest and most important economic powers in the world. It consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in 2014, the UK population amounted to over 64 million people. The same year, it reported the sixth largest gross domestic product in the world, reaching more than 2.8 billion U.S. dollars - and with a prospering economy, its GDP is on the upswing: It is estimated that the GDP in the United Kingdom will grow by approximately 3 percent in 2015 in comparison to the previous year. Regarding unemployment, the UK has never been "typically European". Europe's unemployment rate has been relatively high in comparison to other world regions; the unemployment rate in developed countries and the European Union in 2014 was around 7.8 percent. Meanwhile, the global unemployment rate in 2014 was an estimated 5.9 percent. Despite reporting the third highest unemployment rate in major industrial and emerging countries, behind France and India, the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom is much lower than the European Union rate.

In 2024, there were approximately *** million people unemployed in the United Kingdom, with this expected to have risen to *** million in 2025.

In 2025, the annual unemployment rate of the United Kingdom is expected to be 4.8 percent, compared with 4.3 percent in 2024. Unemployment is forecast to rise to 4.9 percent in 2026, gradually declining to 4.1 percent by 2030. Previous forecasts underestimated how high unemployment would be in 2025, with a rate of 4.1 percent predicted towards the end of 2024, which was revised upward to 4.5 percent the following March. 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 8.5 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 3.5 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 1.3 million in May 2022, but has been falling in most months since then, with approximately 816,000 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 one percent, a downgrade from two percent predicted in late 2024. Inflation, which skyrocketed from late 2021 onwards, reached a peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, and although down to more usual levels by 2024, is expected to rise in 2025, reaching around 3.7 percent by the second half of the 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.

Number and percentage of residents aged 16-64 who are in employment by sex (000's) (seasonally adjusted), for rolling quarters since 1992 by region and country. The figures in this dataset are adjusted to compensate for seasonal variations in employment. Figures are released every month for rolling quarters. Data from ONS Table HI00. The data are taken from the Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey, produced by the Office for National Statistics. Click here to visit the Regional labour market statistics pages from the Office for National Statistics Note: From 17 December 2024, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reweighted Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates, affecting data from January to March 2019 onwards. This reweighting, based on updated 2022 population projections, creates a discontinuity with data prior to January - March 2019. To mitigate this, ONS has modelled seasonally adjusted UK employment, unemployment, and economic inactivity rates and levels by sex and age band back to 2011, ensuring comparability for key measures.

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

Labour market status by ethnic group, UK, published quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

The United Kingdom: Unemployment rate for males: The latest value from 2024 is 4.43 percent, an increase from 4.28 percent in 2023. In comparison, the world average is 6.29 percent, based on data from 176 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2024 is 6.82 percent. The minimum value, 3.79 percent, was reached in 2019 while the maximum of 12.41 percent was recorded in 1993.

This dataset uses Claimant Count to monitor unemployment in Leicester and Upper-Tier-Local-Authority (UTLA) comparators as defined by the ONS as well as UTLAs in the East Midlands, and England core cities.Claimant Count is the number of people claiming Universal Credit or Jobseekers' Allowance principally for the reason of being unemployed.Claimant Count is a useful proxy for unemployment because it is the most comprehensive unemployment-related dataset published at geographies smaller than the local authority level. While there is significant overlap, it is not the same as the national measure for unemployment, which is based on estimates from the Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey.Claimant Count is best used for understanding short term changes in the labour market and the relative position of small areas.Rates are calculated using ONS mid-year or census-based population estimates for the 16-64 year old population as a denominator.A dashboard has also been produced summarising this data into a single page. Click here to view: DashboardFurther information: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/methodologies/aguidetolabourmarketstatistics#introduction

European Union Unemployment Rate: EU 27 excl UK data was reported at 6.700 % in Mar 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.800 % for Feb 2020. European Union Unemployment Rate: EU 27 excl UK data is updated monthly, averaging 9.500 % from Jan 2000 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 243 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.100 % in Feb 2013 and a record low of 6.400 % in Aug 2019. European Union Unemployment Rate: EU 27 excl UK data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.G010: Eurostat: Unemployment Rate.

London had the highest unemployment rate among regions of the United Kingdom in the third quarter of 2025 at *** percent, while for the UK as a whole, the unemployment rate was **** percent. Six 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 *** 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 ****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 ****** British pounds, far higher than the UK average of *******pounds, and significantly larger than North East England, the region with the lowest GDP per head at *******pounds.

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

Youth Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom increased to 12.70 percent in September from 12 percent in August of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Youth Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

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.

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