What does this UK labour market table measure?

It compiles official UK headline labour statistics from the Office for National Statistics, including employment, the 16+ unemployment rate, regular earnings, claimant count figures, job vacancies and labour disputes.

How often is UK employment and unemployment data updated?

The Office for National Statistics publishes this UK dataset monthly, providing rolling updates with historical records extending back to 1931.

Which regional breakdowns are available for the UK labour market?

The dataset includes breakdowns for the United Kingdom, its nations including Scotland and Wales, and English regions such as London, the North West and the South East.

Are the employment and earnings figures seasonally adjusted?

Yes, headline figures such as regular pay and unemployment metrics are presented on a seasonally adjusted basis to account for recurring annual patterns.

UK employment and unemployment rate

Name: UK employment and unemployment rate
Creator: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The UK labour market in one table: employment, unemployment and hours worked from the Labour Force Survey; average weekly earnings in cash and in real terms, for total pay and for regular pay excluding bonuses; the claimant count and the number of job vacancies employers report; and the unemployment, employment and inactivity rates for every region and nation of the UK. Economic inactivity — people neither working nor looking for work — is the measure that moved most after the pandemic and the one that varies most between regions.

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)Last updated: Sep 28, 2026, 05:13Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	08-2026	07-2026	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023
Employment and unemployment7
Unemployment rate (16+)			4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	5	4.9	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.3	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.1	3.9	4	4	4.1
Unemployment rate, men (16+)			5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.5	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.1	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.2	4.5	4.5	4.8	4.8	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.5
Unemployment rate, women (16+)			4.5	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.7	4.6	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4	4.1	4	3.9	3.9	4	4	4.1	3.9	3.8	3.5	3.7	3.7	3.7
People in employment (16+)			34,478	34,469	34,475	34,411	34,386	34,328	34,312	34,253	34,312	34,222	34,198	34,221	34,235	34,216	34,135	34,028	33,994	34,005	33,934	33,871	33,789	33,783	33,784	33,742	33,572	33,468	33,358	33,355	33,347	33,315	33,325	33,385	33,353	33,375	33,357
Men in employment (16+)			17,745	17,726	17,752	17,735	17,662	17,601	17,579	17,546	17,562	17,539	17,540	17,581	17,625	17,610	17,563	17,504	17,497	17,533	17,528	17,489	17,432	17,384	17,327	17,336	17,214	17,169	17,088	17,136	17,167	17,149	17,178	17,193	17,197	17,213	17,207
Women in employment (16+)			16,733	16,744	16,724	16,676	16,724	16,727	16,733	16,708	16,749	16,682	16,658	16,640	16,610	16,606	16,572	16,525	16,496	16,471	16,406	16,383	16,356	16,400	16,457	16,407	16,358	16,300	16,270	16,219	16,181	16,165	16,147	16,193	16,156	16,162	16,150
Total actual weekly hours worked			1,102.6	1,105.2	1,101.3	1,094.3	1,087.6	1,089.2	1,089.9	1,092.2	1,089.7	1,089.4	1,087.9	1,088.7	1,089	1,089.8	1,085.8	1,082.1	1,082.9	1,084	1,081	1,075.5	1,078	1,083.7	1,086.7	1,079.4	1,071.9	1,067.6	1,064.4	1,065.2	1,069.1	1,069.1	1,062.6	1,056.1	1,057.5	1,050.7	1,049.3
Earnings4
Total pay, seasonally adjusted		756	756	751	753	756	746	743	738	739	739	734	733	729	726	724	720	722	718	710	715	707	705	703	697	694	692	692	688	683	679	675	672	670	663	671	665
Regular pay, seasonally adjusted		705	703	699	697	693	692	691	691	688	687	685	682	680	678	677	674	670	670	667	665	661	658	655	652	650	647	644	642	638	634	630	627	626	620	623	621
Real terms total pay index		110	110.6	110	110.8	110.9	110.1	109.9	109.6	109.9	110	109.4	109.6	109.2	109.2	109.5	109	109.6	109.4	108.3	109.9	108.8	109.1	109.1	108.3	108.3	108.4	108.9	108.6	107.5	107.2	106.8	106.8	106.9	106	106.8	106.5
Real terms regular pay index		109.1	109.5	109.1	108.9	108.4	108.7	108.7	109	109	109.1	108.9	108.6	108.5	108.6	108.7	108.4	108.5	108.7	108.3	108.7	108.4	108.4	108.3	108	108	107.8	107.7	107.4	106.9	106.6	106.2	106.1	106.4	105.4	105.7	106.1
Claimant count and vacancies6
Claimant count, all ages	1,691.1	1,663.3	1,675.1	1,681.5	1,680.2	1,671.9	1,667	1,649.9	1,650	1,652.4	1,656.5	1,658.3	1,661.9	1,667.4	1,693.9	1,698.9	1,701.5	1,713	1,714.3	1,714.1	1,723.6	1,742.1	1,763.3	1,771.8	1,770.6	1,775.6	1,637.9	1,611.9	1,583.5	1,577.6	1,562.1	1,565.6	1,562.4	1,550.3	1,538.2	1,530.8	1,530
Job vacancies, total5		702	706	711	710	713	718	725	734	739	730	728	729	737	727	730	738	759	775	793	798	805	810	828	840	853	867	872	885	885	893	895	910	923	951	958	984
Vacancies at employers with 1 to 9 staff		91	95	99	98	103	106	113	119	122	120	116	114	117	113	108	112	121	134	131	130	126	124	132	138	139	145	138	141	136	135	133	138	148	149	148	157
Vacancies at employers with 10 to 49 staff		99	100	101	99	99	100	100	101	104	103	106	107	111	109	113	114	121	118	121	120	125	128	132	131	131	130	130	134	136	141	136	137	136	140	138	143
Vacancies at employers with 50 to 249 staff		103	105	105	107	105	108	107	108	106	108	109	110	110	109	110	107	109	110	120	122	123	123	125	126	127	128	132	134	134	133	136	138	134	141	140	141
Vacancies at employers with 250 to 2,499 staff		169	168	169	168	169	170	171	171	173	168	168	167	168	165	167	169	169	170	173	175	176	178	178	181	184	187	191	190	191	194	197	200	202	210	213	215
Vacancies at employers with 2,500 or more staff		240	239	239	239	238	236	235	235	234	232	228	230	232	231	232	236	239	243	248	252	255	257	261	265	272	276	281	285	288	291	294	297	302	311	319	328
Vacancies per 100 employee jobs, all industries			2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	3	3	3.1
Unemployed people per vacancy			2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.1	2	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.4	1.5	1.4
Job vacancies by industry19
C Manufacturing		48	47	48	51	50	49	50	52	52	49	47	47	49	48	49	49	50	52	55	57	56	57	58	60	62	64	64	63	62	64	65	66	65	68	71	73
F Construction		29	31	34	31	30	28	27	29	30	29	30	30	31	31	30	33	33	43	43	41	34	33	36	39	39	38	37	38	36	37	36	35	36	35	33	33
G Wholesale and retail trade		91	87	88	87	87	90	88	91	92	95	92	95	95	94	93	98	103	101	98	93	98	99	105	108	110	110	108	108	112	113	119	123	126	134	136	141
H Transport and storage		35	35	33	34	33	34	35	34	34	32	30	30	29	30	32	32	32	33	34	36	36	36	34	33	36	39	35	34	34	35	31	31	31	34	37	41
I Accommodation and food services		70	71	70	69	70	72	73	75	75	77	77	76	78	76	79	79	81	81	82	84	87	89	92	96	97	96	96	99	104	104	105	105	107	112	113	119
J Information and communication		36	38	40	39	39	37	40	38	37	34	35	36	36	34	35	35	36	35	35	36	38	38	39	38	41	41	41	40	37	42	41	44	42	43	44	45
K Financial and insurance activities		30	30	32	31	32	32	32	32	34	34	34	33	34	33	32	33	33	34	36	35	34	34	36	34	33	31	33	34	35	35	33	33	35	36	36	36
L Real estate activities		12	12	11	10	10	12	11	12	11	11	10	10	12	13	13	14	13	14	13	14	14	14	13	12	13	14	14	15	16	15	14	13	12	11	9	10
M Professional, scientific and technical		69	69	70	68	72	75	75	75	77	77	77	76	77	74	74	74	77	79	81	82	82	81	85	86	87	88	88	90	88	87	89	92	94	93	92	93
N Administrative and support services		50	52	52	52	51	49	51	50	49	49	49	51	51	50	49	49	52	52	52	52	57	58	59	58	56	59	61	64	65	67	66	64	62	60	57	57
O Public administration and defence		31	30	29	28	29	30	29	29	30	30	30	30	29	29	28	28	29	28	28	29	30	30	29	29	30	31	32	32	31	32	31	32	32	33	32	32
P Education		44	45	46	49	49	48	47	50	51	50	49	49	47	46	43	44	47	49	52	51	51	53	53	55	55	57	57	58	57	57	58	57	59	60	61	60
Q Human health and social work		121	121	122	125	126	125	125	125	124	122	126	127	129	132	135	133	134	135	138	143	141	144	144	147	150	154	158	160	162	163	162	167	171	174	178	179
R Arts, entertainment and recreation		14	13	14	12	12	13	16	17	17	16	16	14	14	15	16	16	18	18	19	19	17	17	18	18	17	17	20	19	17	13	15	17	18	20	23	27
S Other service activities		13	14	14	14	15	15	15	13	14	13	13	13	13	11	11	11	11	13	16	15	15	14	15	15	15	16	18	19	18	18	18	18	19	20	21	23
B Mining and quarrying		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
D Electricity, gas and air conditioning		3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6
E Water supply, sewerage and waste		6	6	6	7	7	6	6	6	7	7	8	7	8	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	7	6	6	6	7	6	7	6	7	7	7	6	7	6	7
Services, total		615	618	619	617	623	631	636	641	645	640	638	640	644	637	640	646	665	669	684	687	701	706	721	730	740	753	760	773	775	780	780	795	807	831	838	862
Vacancies per 100 employee jobs, by industry19
C Manufacturing			2	2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.1	2	2	2.1	2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.9	3
F Construction			1.9	2.1	1.9	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	2	2	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.2	2.1	2.3	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.2
G Wholesale and retail trade			2	2	2	2	2.1	2	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.7	2.8	2.8	3	3.1	3.2
H Transport and storage			2.1	2	2.1	2	2	2.1	2.1	2.1	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	2	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2	2.2	2.4	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	1.9	1.9	1.9	2.1	2.3	2.5
I Accommodation and food services			2.9	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.9	3	3.1	3	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.9	4	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.2	4.4	4.4	4.7
J Information and communication			2.7	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.6	2.8	2.7	2.6	2.4	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.6	2.8	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.6	2.9	2.8	3	2.9	3	3	3.1
K Financial and insurance activities			2.9	3	2.9	3	3	3	3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.4	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.3	3.1	3	2.9	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.3	3	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.4
L Real estate activities			1.9	1.7	1.6	1.5	2	1.8	1.9	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.9	2.1	2	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.1	2	2.1	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.6	2.5	2.3	2.2	2.1	1.8	1.5	1.6
M Professional, scientific and technical			2.3	2.4	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.9	2.9	2.9	3	3	3.1	3	3	3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2
N Administrative and support services			1.9	2	2	1.9	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.9	2	1.9	2	2	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.1
O Public administration and defence			1.9	1.9	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.1	2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.2	2.2
P Education			1.6	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.6	1.7	1.7	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	2	2	2	2.1	2.1	2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2
Q Human health and social work			2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.8	2.9	2.9	2.9	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.7	3.8	3.9	4	4
R Arts, entertainment and recreation			1.6	1.7	1.4	1.5	1.7	2	2.1	2.2	2	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.9	1.9	2	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.1	2.2	2.5	2.4	2.1	1.7	1.8	2.1	2.2	2.5	2.8	3.3
S Other service activities			2.3	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.3	2	2.1	2.1	2.1	2	2	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.8	2	2.5	2.3	2.4	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.9	3	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.9	3	3.3	3.4	3.8
B Mining and quarrying			3	2.8	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.5	2.8	2.8	2.5	2.5	2.8	2.8	3	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.1	2.9	2.9	3.1	3.3	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.7	3.5	4	4.2	4.2
D Electricity, gas and air conditioning			2.3	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.2	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.9	3	3	2.9	2.8	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.4	3.7	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.8
E Water supply, sewerage and waste			2.7	2.7	2.9	2.8	2.5	2.7	2.7	3	3	3.4	3.1	3.2	3	3	2.9	3	2.9	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.9	3	3	2.6	2.8	2.7	2.9
Services, total			2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	3	3.1	3.1
Regional labour market3
Unemployment rate by region14
United Kingdom			4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	5	4.9	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.3	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.1	3.9	4	4	4.1
England			5	5	5	5.1	5.2	5.1	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.2	5.1	5	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.7	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.3	4.4	4.1	4.3	4.3	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.3	4.1	3.9	4	4.1	4.2
London			6.8	6.5	6.5	6.7	7.3	7.1	7.8	7.4	7.1	6.7	6.6	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.5	6.3	6.3	6.2	6	6.1	5.9	6	5.8	5.6	5.4	5.3	5	4.6	4.2	3.8	4	4.4	5.1	5.1
South East			4.2	4.1	4	3.8	3.8	3.9	4	4	4.1	4.1	4.1	3.9	3.8	3.9	4	4.1	4.2	3.9	4	3.8	4	3.8	4	3.6	3.4	3.5	4	3.8	3.9	4	4	3.6	3.3	3.5	3.5
North West			5	5	4.8	5	4.9	4.6	4.7	5	5	5	5.1	5.1	5.3	4.9	4.8	4.5	4.1	3.9	3.9	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2	3.6	4.5	4.3	4.8	5.1	5.6	5.2	4.9	4.6	5.1	4.8	5.4
East of England			3.8	3.5	3.9	4.1	4.1	4	4.3	4.6	4.4	4.9	4.6	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.4	4.4	4.1	3.4	3.5	3.2	3.4	3.3	3.9	3.7	3.9	3.5	4	3.5	3.8	3.9	3.8
West Midlands			5.6	5.6	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.7	6.1	6.2	5.8	5.9	6	6.2	6	5.7	5.5	5.3	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.6	4.8	4.9	5.1	5.2	5.1	4.4	4.2	4.1	4	3.7
South West			3.9	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.5	3.9	3.9	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.4	3.7	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.2	3.4	4.1	4	4.1	3.7	3.4	3.5	3.6	3.8	3.7	3.4	3.2	3.3	2.9	2.9	2.8	3.4
Scotland			5.1	5.1	4.7	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.1	3.9	3.8	3.9	3.7	3.7	3.3	3.7	3.4	4.1	4.1	4.2	3.9	4	3.9	3.7	3.4	3.9	4.2	4.4	4.8	4.7	4.3	4.2	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.6	4.6
Yorkshire and The Humber			5.2	5.5	5.8	5.6	5.9	5.5	5.9	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.5	5.3	5	4.9	4.9	4.6	4.9	4.4	4	4	4.1	3.5	3.4	3.5	3.7	3.6	3.4	3.7	3.5	3.7	3.7	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.2
East Midlands			4.9	5.1	5.2	5.6	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.9	5.8	5.6	5.2	4.5	4.8	4.9	5	4.4	4.2	4.4	4.2	4	3.6	4.2	4.5	4.6	4.9	5.2	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.8	5.2	5	5	4.7	4.6
Wales			4.3	4.7	4.3	4	3.6	4	3.6	4.5	5.3	5.8	5.3	4.7	4.9	4.5	4.7	4.8	5.1	4.9	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.1	4.9	4.7	4.2	4	3.9	3.5	3.3	3.8	4.2	3.3	3.2	2.8	3.1
North East			5.1	5.4	5.7	5.3	5.4	6	7	6.8	6	5.7	5.8	5.7	5.1	5.1	5	5.2	5.1	4.8	4.4	4.7	4.9	5.2	5.3	5.7	5.9	5.2	5.3	4.6	4.6	3.8	3.7	3.8	4	3.8	4.4
Northern Ireland			2.4	2	1.8	1.8	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.4	2.3	2.5	2.2	2.4	2.1	1.8	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.7	1.9	1.7	1.8	2.1	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.4	2.4	2	1.9
Employment rate by region, aged 16 to 6414
United Kingdom			75.1	75.1	75.1	75.1	75	75	75.1	75	75.1	74.9	75.1	75.1	75.2	75.3	75.2	75.1	75.1	75.1	75	75	74.8	74.9	75	75	74.7	74.5	74.4	74.4	74.5	74.6	74.7	74.9	74.9	74.9	74.9
England			75.4	75.5	75.4	75.4	75.4	75.4	75.4	75.2	75.4	75.2	75.5	75.4	75.6	75.6	75.5	75.4	75.4	75.5	75.5	75.4	75.2	75.4	75.4	75.5	75.1	75	74.9	74.9	75	75	75.1	75.3	75.3	75.3	75.2
London			73.9	73.9	73.8	74.3	74.1	74.4	73.8	73.7	73.9	73.8	74.4	74.7	75.3	74.9	74.9	74.4	74.4	74	74.1	74.3	74.6	75.8	75.6	75.6	75.2	75	74.8	74.1	74.8	75.4	76	76	74	73.3	72.8
South East			78.2	78.2	78.2	78.3	78.4	78.6	78.6	78.7	78.8	78.5	78.7	78.9	78.8	79.1	78.9	79.1	78.7	78.5	78.4	78	77.7	77.7	77.6	77.8	78.2	78.3	78.1	78.2	78.4	78.3	78.3	78.4	79	79	79.4
North West			75	74.7	74.6	74.4	74	73.9	73.5	73.7	73.8	73.4	73.7	73.4	73.3	73.3	73.3	73.2	74	74.6	74.5	74.1	73.6	73.7	74	74.4	73	73	72.5	72.8	72.6	72.2	72.8	72.8	73.3	73.5	73.5
East of England			78	78.3	78.1	78.2	77.9	78	78.4	78.3	78.4	77.9	78	78.2	78.2	78.5	78.6	78.7	78.5	78.1	77.6	78	77.9	77.7	77.2	77	76.2	75.9	75.6	75.5	76.1	76.3	76.2	76.4	76.6	76.7	76.6
West Midlands			72.6	73	73.4	73.4	73.6	73.3	73.3	72.9	73.6	73.5	73.7	73.2	73.5	73.7	73.4	72.3	72.5	73.5	73.9	74.2	73.4	73.7	73.9	73.8	73.3	72.9	73.4	73.9	73.8	73.7	73.1	73.6	73.9	74.5	74.7
South West			78.2	78.1	77.9	77.7	78.1	78.4	78.8	78.5	78.7	79	79.4	79.2	79.8	80.1	80.4	80.1	80.1	80.1	79.4	78.9	78.6	78.9	78.7	78.7	78.9	78.4	78.1	77.9	77.7	77.6	77.4	77	78.8	78.9	78.2
Scotland			73.7	74	74.3	74.1	73.8	74	74.6	74.7	74.8	74.9	74.3	74.4	74.5	75	74.9	74.9	74.7	74.3	74.2	74.1	74.2	73.3	73.5	73.4	73.7	73.1	72.4	72.7	72.9	73.7	73.4	73.4	72.9	73	73.5
Yorkshire and The Humber			72.9	73.3	73.2	72.6	72.6	72.6	73.3	73	72.9	72.2	72.6	72.4	72.7	72.4	72.1	72.1	72.2	72.8	72.6	72.2	72	72.2	72.1	72.2	72.4	72.3	72.6	72.7	72.9	73	73.5	74.2	73.7	74.5	74
East Midlands			75.9	75.5	75.2	75	75	75.1	75.8	75.1	75	75.2	75.4	75.7	75	75	74.5	75	75.1	74.9	75	75.3	75.6	75.1	75.4	75.7	75.1	75.8	75.6	75.6	74.9	73.7	73.8	73.7	74.6	73.8	74.4
Wales			72.7	72.5	73	72.3	72.1	71.8	72	71.7	71.5	71.2	71.2	71.3	70.5	71.4	72.2	72.1	71.5	70.7	70.1	70.1	70.1	70.7	70.3	70.3	69.6	68.7	68.4	68.8	69.6	69.6	70.2	71.1	71.1	72.2	72.8
North East			71.3	71.1	71.5	71.3	72	71.3	70.1	69.1	69.4	70.3	68.9	68.8	68.8	68.8	68.8	68.6	67.8	69.4	70	69.8	70.3	68.9	70.7	69.4	69.5	69.5	69.7	70	69.3	70.3	70.2	71.5	71.3	70.2	70.8
Northern Ireland			72.2	72	72.1	72	72.4	71.3	71.8	71.9	71.9	70.5	71.1	71.1	71.8	71.5	72	71.9	71.8	71.5	72.3	72	72.5	72.1	71.9	72.4	72.7	72.8	72.5	72.9	73.3	73	72.8	72.8	72.3	72.5	72.2
Economic inactivity rate by region, aged 16 to 6412
England			20.5	20.5	20.5	20.5	20.4	20.4	20.2	20.3	20.3	20.5	20.4	20.5	20.4	20.4	20.5	20.8	20.9	20.8	21	21	21.2	21.1	21	21.2	21.4	21.5	21.5	21.6	21.5	21.6	21.6	21.6	21.4	21.4	21.4
London			20.5	20.7	20.7	20.3	20	19.8	19.8	20.3	20.4	20.8	20.2	20.3	19.6	20	19.9	20.4	20.6	21	21	20.9	20.5	19.4	19.5	19.8	20.2	20.5	20.9	22.1	21.7	21.4	21	20.8	22.5	22.6	23.2
South East			18.2	18.4	18.5	18.5	18.4	18.2	18.1	17.9	17.8	18	17.9	17.9	18.1	17.7	17.8	17.4	17.8	18.3	18.2	18.8	19	19.1	19.1	19.2	19	18.8	18.6	18.7	18.4	18.4	18.4	18.6	18.2	18	17.5
North West			21.1	21.3	21.6	21.6	22.1	22.5	22.7	22.4	22.3	22.7	22.6	22.8	22.7	22.8	22.9	23.3	22.8	22.3	22.3	22.7	23.2	23.1	22.9	22.9	23.6	23.7	23.8	23.1	22.8	23.6	23.2	23.6	22.7	22.7	22.3
East of England			18.8	18.8	18.6	18.4	18.6	18.7	18	17.9	17.9	17.9	18	17.8	18	17.5	17.3	17.6	17.7	18	18.7	18.5	18.8	19.6	19.7	20.3	21.1	21.5	21.3	21.5	20.7	20.8	20.6	20.8	20.4	20.1	20.3
West Midlands			23	22.7	22.6	22.5	22.1	22.2	21.9	22	21.6	21.6	21.4	21.7	21.7	21.6	22.2	23.5	23.7	22.7	22.4	22.2	22.9	22.9	22.7	23	23.1	23.4	22.8	22	22.1	22.2	23.5	23.1	22.9	22.3	22.4
South West			18.5	18.5	18.6	18.7	18.4	18.3	18.1	18.4	18.3	18.1	17.8	17.7	17.3	17.1	16.9	17.3	17.3	17.2	17.8	17.7	18.1	17.7	18.1	18.4	18.2	18.6	18.8	19	19.7	19.8	19.9	20.6	18.8	18.7	18.9
Scotland			22.2	22	21.8	22.2	22.6	22.6	22.1	22.2	22.2	22	22.7	22.7	22.8	22.1	22.4	21.7	22	22.3	22.8	22.7	22.7	23.8	23.7	23.6	22.9	23.5	23.7	23.6	23.7	23	23.1	22.9	23.6	23.5	22.9
Yorkshire and The Humber			22.9	22.2	22.1	22.8	22.7	23	22	22.4	22.5	23.4	23.1	23.5	23.5	23.8	24.1	24.3	24	23.8	24.4	24.7	24.8	25.1	25.2	25.1	24.7	24.9	24.9	24.4	24.3	24.1	23.7	23.1	23.6	22.8	23.4
East Midlands			20.3	20.3	20.5	20.4	20.5	20.3	19.6	19.9	20.2	20.2	20.3	20.7	21.2	21.1	21.5	21.4	21.5	21.5	21.6	21.4	21.3	21.4	21	20.7	20.9	19.9	19.8	19.9	20.7	21.7	22	22.3	21.5	22.4	21.9
Wales			23.8	23.8	23.6	24.6	25	25.2	25.3	24.9	24.5	24.4	24.7	24.9	25.7	25.1	24.1	24.1	24.4	25.6	25.7	25.7	25.6	25.3	25.8	26	27.1	28.4	28.7	28.5	27.8	27.6	26.7	26.4	26.5	25.6	24.7
North East			24.7	25.1	24.6	25	23.8	24.2	24.5	25.7	25.7	25.2	26.4	26.5	27.3	27.6	28	27.9	28.5	27.3	26.6	26.6	25.6	27.2	25.1	26.1	26	26.8	26.8	26.8	27.3	27	26.9	25.6	25.4	26.8	25.6
Labour disputes (strikes)3
Working days lost to strike action2		34	47	35	120	23	41	31	119	143	36	47	15	90	37	39	51	59	53	51	52	45	44	45	33	50	100	51	17	22	109	165	104	72	132	231	119
Working days lost, public sector		15	21	14	107	6	9	17	92	98	13	16	7	82	22	16	18	20	16	12	13	8	10	9	9	27	81	33	16	19	99	153	92	31	102	197	91
Working days lost, private sector		19	26	22	13	17	32	13	27	46	23	31	8	8	15	23	33	39	38	39	38	37	34	36	24	24	19	19	1	3	11	12	12	41	30	34	28
Stoppages in progress2		63	63	51	240	43	44	63	254	251	38	49	18	225	51	44	47	58	60	65	64	57	30	30	21	234	262	85	63	49	284	295	244	55	544	652	493
Stoppages in progress, public sector		40	38	30	210	23	22	32	214	213	11	13	4	209	29	20	24	32	29	43	44	37	11	12	8	215	236	62	49	32	264	279	219	32	490	563	449
Stoppages in progress, private sector		23	25	21	30	20	22	31	40	38	27	36	14	16	22	24	23	26	31	22	20	20	19	18	13	19	26	23	14	17	20	16	25	23	54	89	44
Workers involved in labour disputes		6	10	6	36	6	5	6	35	44	5	11	4	27	6	5	6	6	7	6	6	6	5	7	5	30	35	20	11	8	43	78	42	28	49	108	53

Latest reading

Unemployment rate (16+) stood at 4.9% in Jun 2026. That is unchanged from May 2026 and +0.2 pp from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Feb 1971 to Jun 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Latest: 4.9%; Jun 2026
vs previous period: 0.0 pp; May 2026
vs a year earlier: +0.2 pp

About this data

Frequently asked questions

What does this UK labour market table measure?: It compiles official UK headline labour statistics from the Office for National Statistics, including employment, the 16+ unemployment rate, regular earnings, claimant count figures, job vacancies and labour disputes.
How often is UK employment and unemployment data updated?: The Office for National Statistics publishes this UK dataset monthly, providing rolling updates with historical records extending back to 1931.
Which regional breakdowns are available for the UK labour market?: The dataset includes breakdowns for the United Kingdom, its nations including Scotland and Wales, and English regions such as London, the North West and the South East.
Are the employment and earnings figures seasonally adjusted?: Yes, headline figures such as regular pay and unemployment metrics are presented on a seasonally adjusted basis to account for recurring annual patterns.