---

Unemployment in the UK: Economic indicators

Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces labour market statistics using the Labour Force Survey (LFS). In recent years, fewer people have been responding to the LFS, and detailed LFS estimates were not published between October 2023 and January 2024 because of quality concerns. The number of responses has increased steadily since then making the estimates more reliable. The Library briefing UK Labour market statistics provides more information.

There were 1.78 million unemployed people in the UK in May to July 2026, an increase of 83,000 from the previous year.

The unemployment rate (the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed) was 4.9%, up from 4.7% a year before.

751,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed in May to July 2026, 109,000 more than the year before.

The unemployment rate for 16-to-24-year-olds was 16.4%, an increase from 14.3% a year before.

Next updates

This page is updated when new data is published. The next source updates will be:

• ONS, Labour Market Statistics, 20 October 2026