Latest reading: The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August 2026, the largest increase in five months, following an upwardly...
Unemployment in United Kingdom
The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom averaged 4.6% in the decade to 2024, below the 5.8% average for Major Economies. The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 4.3% in 2024. For more information on unemployment, visit our dedicated page.
United Kingdom Unemployment Chart
Note: This chart displays Unemployment Rate for United Kingdom from 2014 to 2025.
Source: Macrobond.
United Kingdom Unemployment Data
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment (% of active population, aop) | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.8 |
| Unemployment (% of active population, eop) | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 |
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects British unemployment projections for the next ten years from a panel of 33 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable unemployment forecast available for British unemployment.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our British unemployment projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of British unemployment forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Unemployment News
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United States: Employment jumps in August -
Euro Area: Unemployment rate remains stable in July Latest reading: In July, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.4% for the second consecutive month, coming in slightly... -
Australia: Employment falls in July Latest reading: Employment fell by 15,800 in July 2026, bringing the total number of employed people to 14.81 million. This... -
United States: Employment sees surprise fall in July Latest reading: The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July 2026, following a gain of 20,000 in June and... -
Euro Area: Unemployment rate remains stable in June Latest reading: In June, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.3% for the fourth consecutive month, coming in slightly... -
Spain: Unemployment rate falls in Q2 Latest reading: The unemployment rate dropped to 9.9% in Q2 from 10.8% in Q1, recording the lowest rate since 2008.... -
Australia: Employment jumps in June Latest reading: Australia’s workforce expanded by 76,300 in June 2026, bringing total employment to 14.82 million. That followed May’s rise...