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.

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.

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.

The unemployment rate in England was 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared with 4.4 percent in the previous quarter.

Unemployment by age and duration (seasonally adjusted). These estimates are sourced from the Labour Force Survey, a survey of households. These are official statistics in development.

Unemployment by previous industrial sector. These estimates are sourced from the Labour Force Survey, a survey of households. These are official statistics in development.

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.

Youth Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom increased to 12.90 percent in January from 12.80 percent in December of 2024. 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.

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

Economic activity rates, employment rates and unemployment rates broken down by ethnic group. The economically active population comprises those who are either employed or unemployed and excludes those who are economically inactive. The data are taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS), produced by the Office for National Statistics.

Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment.

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.

United Kingdom Unemployment Rate: sa: England: East of England data was reported at 3.168 % in Aug 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.182 % for May 2018. United Kingdom Unemployment Rate: sa: England: East of England data is updated quarterly, averaging 4.850 % from May 1992 (Median) to Aug 2018, with 106 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.300 % in May 1993 and a record low of 3.168 % in Aug 2018. United Kingdom Unemployment Rate: sa: England: East of England data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G033: Unemployment Rate: By Region: Seasonally Adjusted.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has jointly developed with Professor Ray Chambers of the University of Southampton, a new modelling methodology to produce modelled estimates of unemployment levels and rates on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition for local authority districts and unitary authorities (LAD/UAs). The unemployed population consists of those people out of work, who are actively looking for work and are available to start immediately. The data are taken from the Annual Population Survey, produced by the Office for National Statistics.

The unemployment rate is based on persons aged 16 and over.

The methodology is on the ONS website.

Regional level data can also be found on the ONS website.

This study uses the ARDL model and semi-macro data to conduct regression analysis on the relationship between immigrant share and unemployment rate and draws the following conclusions: First, overall, the increase of immigration will decrease the unemployment rate in the U.K. in the short-term; however, the long-term effect may be zero. The effect of immigration on the unemployment rate may vary subtly depending on the local economic development or population density. Specifically, in less economically developed or sparsely populated areas, an increase in the immigrant share may improve employment in the long term. Conversely, in regions with higher population density or RGDP, although immigration will improve employment in the short term, the long-term effects on employment are likely to be negative. The uploaded zip file includes the raw data folder as well as the data files for analysis. After executing the latter CSV file named post_2021_7 into EViews 10, the overall regression analysis of immigrants on the unemployment rates can be obtained by following the steps of the panel ARDL approach. The results of the analysis of the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with lower RGDP, the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with higher RGDP, the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with low population density and the impact of immigrants on the unemployment rates in areas with high population density can be obtained by using the files named post_2021_7_red_rgdp_1_2, post_2021_7_green_rgdp_1_2, post_2021_7_red_pop_1_2 and post_2021_7_green_pop_1_2, separately.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate Male: From 15 to 74 Years for United Kingdom (LRUN74MAGBA156N) from 2000 to 2023 about 15 to 74 years, males, United Kingdom, unemployment, and rate.

International comparisons of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity, published monthly. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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.

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the youth unemployment rate in the UK was highest in London at 19.3 percent, compared with the UK average of 14.8 percent. As of this quarter, Northern Ireland had the lowest youth unemployment rate at just 3.5 percent.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Great Britain Historical Database has been assembled as part of the ongoing Great Britain Historical GIS Project. The project aims to trace the emergence of the north-south divide in Britain and to provide a synoptic view of the human geography of Britain at sub-county scales. Further information about the project is available on A Vision of Britain webpages, where users can browse the database's documentation system online.

The Great Britain Historical GIS Project has also produced digitised boundary data, which can be obtained from the UK Data Service Census Support service. Further information is available at census.ukdataservice.ac.uk

Main Topics:

The Great Britain Historical Database is a large database of British nineteenth and twentieth-century statistics. Where practical the referencing of spatial units has been integrated, data for different dates have been assembled into single tables.

The Great Britain Historical Database currently contains :

• Statistics from the 1861 Census and the Registrar General's reports, 1851-1861
  
• Employment statistics from the census, 1841-1931
  
• Demographic statistics from the census, 1841-1931
  
• Mortality statistics from the Registrar General's reports, 1861-1920
  
• Marriage statistics from the Registrar General's reports, 1841-1870
  
• Trade union statistics for the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE), 1851-1918
  
• Trade union statistics for the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners (ASCJ), 1863-1912
  
• Official poor law statistics, 1859-1915 and 1919-1939
  
• Wage statistics, 1845-1906
  
• Hours of work statistics, 1900-1913
  
• Small debt statistics from county courts, 1847-1913 and 1938
  

There are six tables in this part of the Great Britain Historical Database :

Tu_pc holds monthly local unemployment statistics for engineers (January 1902-December 1914), shipbuilders (January 1902-December 1914), printers (February 1902-December 1914) and carpenters and joiners (May 1901-October 1905). For details of the districts used please see the documentation.

Div23_38 holds annual data taken from the official tabulations of the Ministry of Labour's Local Unemployment Index from 1923 to 1938 for eight divisions.

Lui holds quarterly data taken from the official tabulations of the Ministry of Labour's Local Unemployment Index from January 1927 to July 1939.

Lui_gaz provides locational information for the exchange areas listed in lui.

Un_1928 holds information on registered unemployment at labour exchanges for 30th January 1928.

Un_1933 holds information on registered unemployment at labour exchanges for 23rd January 1933.

Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.