The share of the UK workforce aged 16 and over who are out of work and actively looking for a job. When it rises, jobs are harder to find and households come under pressure; when it falls, more people have the security of a wage. It counts only those actively seeking work, missing the larger inactive group.
Source: Office for National Statistics · Labour Force Survey
Coverage: UK
Scottish stores in firing line as major fashion brand potentially cuts 250 jobs
Daily Record · Eilidh Farquhar · 8 August 2026
Primary schools should predict which children most likely to be unemployed, Government worklessness review to recommend
Daily Mail · 7 August 2026
Primary schools to be told to identify children at risk of future unemployment
The Guardian · Richard Partington · 7 August 2026
Diageo to nearly double Guinness production and cut jobs in turnaround plan
The Guardian · Rob Davies · 6 August 2026
I’ve been made redundant six times - so I made a job out of it
The i · Aasma Day · 6 August 2026
Reporting from the left, centre and right of the press.
Scottish stores in firing line as major fashion brand potentially cuts 250 jobs
Daily Record · Eilidh Farquhar · 8 August 2026
I’ve been made redundant six times - so I made a job out of it
The i · Aasma Day · 6 August 2026
Primary schools should predict which children most likely to be unemployed, Government worklessness review to recommend
Daily Mail · 7 August 2026
The latest figures across all Work & Pensions metrics.
Average Weekly Earnings
£749−0.7%
May 2026
State Pension Rate · Basic State Pension
£184.90+4.8%
Apr 2026
State Pension Rate · New State Pension
£241.30+4.8%
Apr 2026
National Living Wage
£12.71+4.1%
Apr 2026
Self-Employment
4.5m−32k
April 2026
Employment · Part-time
8.8m+32k
April 2026
Employment · Full-time
25.7m+31k
April 2026
Employment Rate
75.1%+0.0%
April 2026
Economic Inactivity
9.1m−24k
April 2026
Youth Unemployment · Number
743,000+9k
April 2026
Youth Unemployment · Rate
16.4%+0.2%
April 2026
Long-Term Unemployment
445,000+5k
April 2026
Unemployment Rate
4.9%+0.0%
April 2026
Zero-Hours Contracts
1.2m+9.9k
2026 Q1
Employment · Public sector
6.2m+2k
2026 Q1
Employment · Private sector
28.2m+98k
2026 Q1
NEET (16-24)
1m+54.7k
Jan-Mar 2026
Earnings · Part-time
-2.9%+0.1%
2025
Earnings · Full-time
6.9%−0.2%
2025
Earnings · All employees
12.8%−0.3%
2025
Pensioner Poverty · Absolute · before housing
15.9%−1.9%
2024/25
Pensioner Poverty · Absolute · after housing
13.9%−0.7%
2024/25
Pensioner Poverty · Relative · before housing
15.9%+0.6%
2024/25
Pensioner Poverty · Relative · after housing
13.9%+1.5%
2024/25
