UK unemployment rate at 4.9% in April-June, above market forecast

The UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over stood at 4.9% in the three months to June 2026, remaining above market expectations of 4.8%, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the jobless rate was up 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year, while edging down 0.1 percentage points on a quarterly basis.

The employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 was estimated at 75.1%, down 0.2 percentage points on the year but up 0.1 percentage points on the latest quarter.

The economic inactivity rate for the same age group was recorded at 20.9%, largely unchanged on both the year and the quarter.

Estimates for payrolled employees fell by 86,000 on the year and 37,000 on the quarter in April to June 2026.

Early estimates for July 2026 showed payrolled employees decreased by 94,000 year-on-year, while remaining largely unchanged on the month at 30.3 million.

The Claimant Count for July 2026 fell on both a monthly and annual basis to 1.665 million.

Job vacancies dropped by 6,000 to 707,000 in May to July 2026 compared with the February-April period, with small firms scaling back recruitment due to rising labor costs.

Annual growth in regular average earnings was 3.5%, while total earnings including bonuses grew by 4.1% in April to June 2026.

Public sector regular pay growth reached 6.1%, compared to 2.8% in the private sector.