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Posted around 6 months ago •
In the quarter to December 2025, unemployment and redundancy levels both rose, the employment rate fell slightly and strong private sector wage growth has continued to slow. Provisional estimates suggest that vacancies are struggling to grow, and inactivity levels decreased slightly, but remain stubbornly high. As such, the UK labour market picture is broadly unchanged from recent months, but there is a growing challenge of people wanting to work, being unable to find it.
In the quarter to June 2026, employment rose, headline unemployment fell and economic inactivity was broadly unchanged. Meanwhile, youth unemployment remained above 16%, vacancies fell again, and regular pay growth showed signs of resilience.
In the quarter to February 2026, the unemployment level and rate fell, employment levels rose slightly but the employment rate decreased, and wage growth continued to slow. There was also a notable uptick in economic inactivity, and vacancies have fallen even further.