Unemployment Rate in the United States decreased to 4.10 percent in June from 4.20 percent in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States 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 China remained unchanged at 5 percent in June. This dataset provides - China Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Unemployment Rate in France increased to 7.40 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 7.30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. 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.

Unemployment Rate in Sweden increased to 9.70 percent in May from 8.90 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Sweden Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Kenya’s unemployment rate was 5.43 percent in 2024. This represents a steady decline from the increase after the financial crisis. What is unemployment? The unemployment rate of a country refers to the share of people who want to work but cannot find jobs. This includes workers who have lost jobs and are searching for new ones, workers whose jobs ended due to an economic downturn, and workers for whom there are no jobs because the labor supply in their industry is larger than the number of jobs available. Different statistics suggest which factors contribute to the overall unemployment rate. The Kenyan context The first type, so-called “search unemployment”, is hardest to see in the data. The closest proxy is Kenya’s inflation rate. As workers take new jobs faster, employers are forced to increase wages, leading to higher employment. Jobs lost due to economic downturns, called “cyclical unemployment”, can be seen by decreases in the GDP growth rate, which are not significant in Kenya. Finally, “structural unemployment” refers to workers changing the industry, or even economic sector, in which they are working. In Kenya, more and more workers switch to the services sector. This is often a result of urbanization, but any structural shift in the economy’s composition can lead to this unemployment.

Number of persons in the labour force (employment and unemployment), unemployment rate, participation rate and employment rate by province, gender and age group. Data are presented for 12 months earlier, previous month and current month, as well as year-over-year and month-to-month level change and percentage change. Data are also available for the standard error of the estimate, the standard error of the month-to-month change and the standard error of the year-over-year change.

The statistic shows the unemployment rate in India from 1999 to 2024. In 2024, the unemployment rate in India was estimated to be 4.2 percent. India's economy in comparison to other BRIC states India possesses one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and as a result, India is recognized as one of the G-20 major economies as well as a member of the BRIC countries, an association that is made up of rapidly growing economies. As well as India, three other countries, namely Brazil, Russia and China, are BRIC members. India’s manufacturing industry plays a large part in the development of its economy; however its services industry is the most significant economical factor. The majority of the population of India works in this sector. India’s notable economic boost can be attributed to significant gains over the past decade in regards to the efficiency of the production of goods as well as maintaining relatively low debt, particularly when compared to the total amount earned from goods and services produced throughout the years. When considering individual development as a country, India progressed significantly over the years. However, in comparison to the other emerging countries in the BRIC group, India’s progress was rather minimal. While China experienced the most apparent growth, India’s efficiency and productivity remained somewhat stagnant over the course of 3 or 4 years. India also reported a rather large trade deficit over the past decade, implying that its total imports exceeded its total amount of exports, essentially forcing the country to borrow money in order to finance the nation. Most economists consider trade deficits a negative factor, especially in the long run and for developing or emerging countries.

Number of persons in the labour force (employment and unemployment), unemployment rate, participation rate and employment rate by data type (seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle), gender and age group. Data are also available for the standard error of the estimate, the standard error of the month-to-month change and the standard error of the year-over-year change.

Unemployment Rate in Argentina increased to 7.90 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 6.40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Argentina Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The tech industry had a rough start to 2024. Technology companies worldwide saw a significant reduction in their workforce in the first quarter of 2024, with over 57 thousand employees being laid off. By the second quarter, layoffs impacted more than 43 thousand tech employees. In the final quarter of the year around 12 thousand employees were laid off. Layoffs impacting all global tech giants Layoffs in the global market escalated dramatically in the first quarter of 2023, when the sector saw a staggering record high of 167.6 thousand employees losing their jobs. Major tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, and IBM all contributed to this figure during this quarter. Amazon, in particular, conducted the most rounds of layoffs with the highest number of employees laid off among global tech giants. Industries most affected include the consumer, hardware, food, and healthcare sectors. Notable companies that have laid off a significant number of staff include Flink, Booking.com, Uber, PayPal, LinkedIn, and Peloton, among others. Overhiring led the trend, but will AI keep it going? Layoffs in the technology sector started following an overhiring spree during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, companies expanded their workforce to meet increased demand for digital services during lockdowns. However, as lockdowns ended, economic uncertainties persisted and companies reevaluated their strategies, layoffs became inevitable, resulting in a record number of 263 thousand laid off employees in the global tech sector by trhe end of 2022. Moreover, it is still unclear how advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) will impact layoff trends in the tech sector. AI-driven automation can replace manual tasks leading to workforce redundancies. Whether through chatbots handling customer inquiries or predictive algorithms optimizing supply chains, the pursuit of efficiency and cost savings may result in more tech industry layoffs in the future.

Unemployment Rate in Italy increased to 6.50 percent in May from 6.10 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Italy Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Background
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a unique source of information using international definitions of employment and unemployment and economic inactivity, together with a wide range of related topics such as occupation, training, hours of work and personal characteristics of household members aged 16 years and over. It is used to inform social, economic and employment policy. The LFS was first conducted biennially from 1973-1983. Between 1984 and 1991 the survey was carried out annually and consisted of a quarterly survey conducted throughout the year and a 'boost' survey in the spring quarter (data were then collected seasonally). From 1992 quarterly data were made available, with a quarterly sample size approximately equivalent to that of the previous annual data. The survey then became known as the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). From December 1994, data gathering for Northern Ireland moved to a full quarterly cycle to match the rest of the country, so the QLFS then covered the whole of the UK (though some additional annual Northern Ireland LFS datasets are also held at the UK Data Archive). Further information on the background to the QLFS may be found in the documentation.

Secure Access QLFS data
Secure Access datasets for the QLFS are available from the April-June 1992 quarter, and include additional, detailed variables not included in the standard 'End User Licence' (EUL) versions (see under GN 33246). Extra variables that typically can be found in the Secure Access versions but not in the EUL relate to:

• geography (see 'Spatial Units' below)
• date of birth, including day
• education and training: including type of 'other qualifications', more detail regarding the number of O'levels/GCSE passes, type of qualification gained in last 12 months, class of first degree, type of degree held, UK country of highest degree, type of current educational institution, level of Welsh baccalaureate, activities to improve knowledge or skills in last 12 months, attendance at adult learning taught courses, attendance at leisure or educational classes, self-teaching, payment of job-related training fees
• household and family characteristics: including number of family units (and extended family units) with dependent children only, and with non-dependent children only, total number of family units with more than one person, total number of eligible people, type of household, type of family unit, number of bedrooms
• employment: including industry code of main job, whether working full-time or part-time, reason job is temporary, payment of own National Insurance and tax, when started working at previous job, whether paid or self-employed in previous job, contracts with employment agency
• unemployment and job hunting: including main reason for not being employed prior to current job, reasons for leaving job (provision of care or other personal/family reasons), use of internet for job hunting, if and when will work in the future
• temporary leave from work: including proportion of salary received and duration of leave
• accidents at work and work-related health problems
• nationality, national identity and country of birth: including whether lived continuously in UK, month of most recent arrival to UK, frequency of Welsh speaking
• occurrence of learning difficulty or disability
• benefits, including additional variables on type of benefits claimed and tax credit payments

Secure Access versions of QLFS household datasets are available from 2009 under SN 7674.

Prospective users of a Secure Access version of the QLFS will need to fulfil additional requirements, commencing with the completion of an extra application form to demonstrate to the data owners exactly why they need access to the extra, more detailed variables, in order to obtain permission to use that version. Secure Access users must also complete face-to-face training and agree to Secure Access' User Agreement (see 'Access' section below). Therefore, users are encouraged to download and inspect the EUL version of the data prior to ordering the Secure Access version.

Well-Being variables are not included in the LFS
Users should note that subjective well-being variables (Satis, Worth, Happy, Anxious and Sad) are not available on the LFS, despite being referenced in the questionnaire. Users who wish to analyse well-being variables should apply for the Annual Population Survey instead (see SNs 6721 and 7961).

LFS Documentation
The documentation available from the Archive to accompany LFS datasets largely consists of the relevant versions of each volume of the user guide. However, LFS volumes are updated periodically by ONS, so users are advised to check the ONS LFS User Guidance pages before commencing analysis. This is especially important for users of older QLFS studies, where information and guidance in the user guide documents may have changed over time.

The study documentation presented in the Documentation section includes the most recent documentation for the LFS only, due to available space. Documentation for previous years is provided alongside the data for access and is also available upon request.

Variables DISEA and LNGLST
Dataset A08 (Labour market status of disabled people) which ONS suspended due to an apparent discontinuity between April to June 2017 and July to September 2017 is now available. As a result of this apparent discontinuity and the inconclusive investigations at this stage, comparisons should be made with caution between April to June 2017 and subsequent time periods. However users should note that the estimates are not seasonally adjusted, so some of the change between quarters could be due to seasonality. Further recommendations on historical comparisons of the estimates will be given in November 2018 when ONS are due to publish estimates for July to September 2018.

Latest Edition Information

For the thirty-eighth edition (October 2023), a new data file for April-June 2023 and a new 2023 variable catalogue have been added to the study.

Unemployment Rate in Japan remained unchanged at 2.50 percent in May. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Japan Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

In 2019, the unemployment rate in the Philippines was at approximately 2.24 percent and on a steady downward trend from 3.6 percent in 2014.

Souvenirs from overseas

The Philippines’ economy relies heavily on remittances from overseas, i.e. money sent home by Filipino emigrants and workers in other countries. In 2016 alone, approximately 30 billion U.S. dollars were received as remittances in the Philippines, and the amount seems to increase significantly every year. This makes the Philippines one of the leading countries worldwide when it comes to receiving remittances, only surpassed by India and China.

Visitors from overseas

The Philippines’ economy is stable, not only because of remittances, but also because of a flourishing services sector, which is now the main generator of GDP in the country; tourism and IT in particular contribute to economic growth. More than half of the Philippines workforce is employed in services.

Unemployment Rate in Germany remained unchanged at 6.30 percent in June. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Germany 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 Finland increased to 10.50 percent in May from 10 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Finland 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 South Africa increased to 32.90 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 31.90 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - South Africa Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Unemployment Rate in Mexico increased to 2.70 percent in May from 2.50 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Mexico 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 Spain increased to 11.36 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 10.61 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Spain 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 India decreased to 7.90 percent in February from 8.20 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides - India Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.