The UK unemployment rate held steady at 4.9% for the fourth consecutive three-month period to July 2026, surprising analysts who had expected an increase to 5.0%. The number of unemployed people rose by 11,000 compared with the previous quarter and by 83,000 year-on-year, reaching 1.778 million. The annual increase was mainly driven by a rise in the number of people unemployed for more than six months.
Over the same period, total employment increased by 66,000 on the quarter and by 243,000 compared with a year earlier, bringing the total number of people in work to 34.478 million. The employment rate was unchanged on the quarter at 75.1%, but this was 0.1 percentage points lower than a year before.
Both full-time and part-time employment were higher than a year earlier. However, part-time employment fell in the latest quarter. The annual growth in full-time employment was driven by an increase in the number of full-time employees, while the rise in part-time employment over the year reflected a greater number of part-time self-employed workers.
