The unemployment rate in the UK increased to 4.2% in the three months to June 2023, the highest since late-2021 and above market forecasts of 4% and 4% in the previous period. The increase in unemployment was driven by people unemployed for up to 6 months. There was a large net movement from economic inactivity into unemployment, with the economic inactivity rate falling by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 20.9%, largely driven by those inactive because they are looking after family or home while those inactive because of long-term sickness increased to a record high. Meanwhile, the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 75.7%, driven by full-time employees and self-employed workers. The estimate of payrolled employees for July 2023 shows a monthly increase of 97K to 30.2 million. In May to July 2023, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 66K. source: Office for National Statistics

Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom averaged 6.73 percent from 1971 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 11.90 percent in April of 1984 and a record low of 3.40 percent in December of 1973. This page 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. United Kingdom Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on August of 2023.

Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom is expected to be 4.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United Kingdom Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 5.00 percent in 2024 and 5.20 percent in 2025, according to our econometric models.

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United Kingdom Unemployment Rate



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2023-07-11 06:00 AM May 4% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9%
2023-08-15 06:00 AM Jun 4.2% 4% 4% 4.0%
2023-09-12 06:00 AM Jul 4.2%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Unemployment Rate 4.20 4.00 percent Jun 2023
Unemployed Persons 1571.90 1542.80 Thousand Jul 2023
Employed Persons 32929.00 33053.00 Thousand May 2023
Full Time Employment 24396.00 24590.00 Thousand May 2023
Part Time Employment 8533.00 8462.00 Thousand May 2023
Claimant Count Change 29.00 16.20 Thousand Jul 2023
Employment Rate 75.70 76.00 percent May 2023
Labor Force Participation Rate 79.10 79.20 percent May 2023
Youth Unemployment Rate 12.30 11.40 percent May 2023
Productivity 100.60 102.10 points Mar 2023
Job Vacancies 1020.00 1036.00 Thousand Jun 2023
Wages 663.00 656.00 GBP/Week Jun 2023
Wages in Manufacturing 715.00 717.00 GBP/Week Jun 2023
Wage Growth 8.20 7.20 percent Jun 2023
Real Earnings Including Bonuses 1.14 0.38 percent Jun 2023
Average Earnings Excluding Bonus 7.80 7.50 percent Jun 2023
Non Farm Payrolls 97.23 47.32 Thousand Jul 2023
Employment Change -66.00 102.00 Thousand May 2023
Average Weekly Hours 31.80 31.90 Hours May 2023

United Kingdom Unemployment Rate
In the United Kingdom, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
4.20 4.00 11.90 3.40 1971 - 2023 percent Monthly

News Stream
UK Jobless Rate Highest since 2021 at 4.2%
The unemployment rate in the UK increased to 4.2% in the three months to June 2023, the highest since late-2021 and above market forecasts of 4% and 4% in the previous period. The increase in unemployment was driven by people unemployed for up to 6 months. There was a large net movement from economic inactivity into unemployment, with the economic inactivity rate falling by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 20.9%, largely driven by those inactive because they are looking after family or home while those inactive because of long-term sickness increased to a record high. Meanwhile, the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 75.7%, driven by full-time employees and self-employed workers. The estimate of payrolled employees for July 2023 shows a monthly increase of 97K to 30.2 million. In May to July 2023, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 66K.
2023-08-15
UK Jobless Rate Unexpectedly Rises to 1-1/2-Year High
The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom rose to 4.0 percent in March to May 2023, the highest level since the last quarter of 2021 and above market expectations of 3.8 percent. The number of unemployed increased by 77 thousand to 1.37 million, driven by people unemployed for up to 12 months, while employment levels rose by 102 thousand to 33.05 million, mainly attributed to part-time employees, but missed the market consensus of a 125 thousand advance. Wages, excluding bonuses, were 7.3 percent higher than a year earlier during the three months to May, the largest increase seen outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, and above forecasts of 7.1 percent. Total pay growth has also accelerated to 6.9 percent, above expectations of 6.8 percent.
2023-07-11
UK Jobless Rate Rises Less Than Forecast
The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom came in at 3.8 percent in February to April 2023, up 0.1 percentage points on the quarter but below market expectations of 4.0 percent. Still, the rate remained close to the January-March period's over one-year high of 3.9 percent, as the number of unemployed increased by 52 thousand to 1.31 million, driven by people unemployed for up to 12 months. At the same time, employment levels rose by 250 thousand to an all-time high of 33.09 million, easily beating market consensus of a 162 thousand advance, with increases in both the number of employees and self-employed workers. Wages excluding bonuses were 7.2 percent higher than a year earlier during the three months to April, the largest increase seen outside of the COVID-19 pandemic and above forecasts of 6.9 percent.
2023-06-13