Unemployment in United Kingdom

United Kingdom - Unemployment
The labor market continues to strengthen at the outset of Q3
According to the ONS, in April–June the unemployment rate registered 4.7%, down 0.2 percentage points from Q1. Experimental data for July showed that employment rose by 182,000 from June. Moreover, job vacancies were above pre-pandemic levels in July, and exceeded one million for the first time.
The unemployment rate is still forecast to increase somewhat later this year as government labor market support is wound down, although the extension of the furlough scheme until end-September should delay the rise in unemployment and also limit the extent of the rise.
On the reading, George Buckley, economist at Nomura, commented:
“This was another strong labour market report […]. But there are caveats: labour input measured by hours worked and to a lesser extent employment remains below where it was before the virus hit, annual pay growth is being heavily distorted upwards and payrolls were unchanged relative to pre-pandemic levels following downward revisions. Spare capacity remains in the labour market, but it’s being eroded quickly and mismatch risks adding to wage pressures.”
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect the unemployment rate to average 5.1% in 2021, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 5.0% in 2022.
United Kingdom - Unemployment Data
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unemployment (% of active population) | 5.4 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
United Kingdom Unemployment Chart

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS).
United Kingdom Facts
Value | Change | Date | |
---|---|---|---|
Bond Yield | 0.83 | -3.04 % | Jan 01 |
Exchange Rate | 1.33 | -0.35 % | Jan 01 |
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Economic News
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United Kingdom: Consumer confidence steady in July at record low
July 22, 2022
Consumer confidence was unchanged at June's record low of minus 41.0 in July.
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United Kingdom: Manufacturing and services PMIs fall in July
July 22, 2022
The S&P Global/CIPS Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 53.7 in June to 52.8 in July.
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United Kingdom: Inflation comes in at series high in June
July 20, 2022
Consumer prices rose 0.80% over the previous month in June, picking up from May's 0.65% rise.
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United Kingdom: Labor market performs well in Q2
July 18, 2022
According to the ONS, in March–May the unemployment rate registered 3.8%, unchanged from the previous rolling quarter and close to its pre-pandemic level, while job vacancies eased from their previous record high in the three months to June.
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United Kingdom: Economic activity bounces back in May
July 13, 2022
GDP increased 0.5% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in May (April: -0.2% mom), beating market expectations of a flat reading.