How’s the UK Doing?UK economic statistics, explained
How’s the UK Doing?

How many people are out of work?

The share of people looking for work

4.9%

May to July 2026

Same as February to April 2026

Warning signUnemployment is higher than usual for the past decade.Why this signal?

Where this sits in the last 10 years
10-year low 3.6%10-year high 5.3%
Published
Next update
in 9 days

Recent figures may be revised.

Unemployment rate

May to July 2026 · 4.9%, up 0.2 percentage points on a year earlier

Warning sign

Good signNeutralWarning sign

Good signNeutralWarning sign

Good signNeutralWarning sign

Usual range (middle 80% of the last 10 years)

Each year averages March, June, September and December, so overlapping months count once. 2026 so far covers January to June.

Each month is that month's figure, not a total so far. 2026 so far covers January to July.

Source: Office for National Statistics

What this means for people

A higher rate means more people want a job and do not have one.

Someone is unemployed here if they do not have a job, have looked for one in the past four weeks, and could start within two weeks. People waiting to start a job they have already been offered are included.

The share is of everyone working or looking for work, not of the whole population. Students, carers, retired people and people who are long-term sick are left out when they are not looking, or could not start within two weeks. ONS calls that group economically inactive.

The Labour Force Survey asks households about their work. A rising rate usually means it is getting harder to find a job.

Latest figures

See the figures as a table
PeriodValue
May to July 20264.9%
April to June 20264.9%
March to May 20264.9%
February to April 20264.9%
January to March 20265.0%
December 2025 to February 20264.9%
November 2025 to January 20265.2%
October to December 20255.2%
September to November 20255.1%
August to October 20255.1%
July to September 20255.0%
June to August 20254.8%
Each year averages March, June, September and December, so overlapping months count once.
YearPeriod coveredValue
2026 so farJanuary to June5.0%
2025March, June, September and December4.9%
2024March, June, September and December4.3%
2023March, June, September and December4.1%
2022March, June, September and December3.8%
2021March, June, September and December4.6%
2020March, June, September and December4.6%
2019March, June, September and December3.8%
2018March, June, September and December4.1%
2017March, June, September and December4.4%
2016March, June, September and December4.9%
2015March, June, September and December5.4%
Each month
Period2023202420252026 so far
January3.9%4.1%4.4%5.2%
February4.0%4.2%4.5%4.9%
March4.0%4.3%4.6%5.0%
April3.9%4.4%4.6%4.9%
May4.0%4.4%4.7%4.9%
June4.2%4.2%4.7%4.9%
July4.4%4.2%4.7%4.9%
August4.3%4.1%4.8%
September4.1%4.3%5.0%
October4.0%4.2%5.1%
November4.0%4.4%5.1%
December3.9%4.4%5.2%

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How to read this

This comes from a survey

A quarterly change smaller than about 0.3 percentage points may be survey noise.

The survey is still less precise

Fewer households took part from 2023. Response has since improved, but ONS says the rate is still less precise than before the pandemic, and that 2023 and 2024 are more volatile.

Each figure covers three months

Each figure is an average over three months. Compare it with the three months before, or with a year earlier.

Not the same as claiming benefits

People looking for work are counted whether or not they claim benefits. The claimant count is a different measure.

Source

Publisher
Office for National Statistics
Official title
Unemployment rate, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted (Labour Force Survey)
Series
MGSX
Geography
United Kingdom
Status
Official statistics
Cite this

Office for National Statistics (2026) Unemployment rate, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted (Labour Force Survey), May to July 2026 (series MGSX).