The UK unemployment rate declined to 4.7% in the three months to August 2026, surprising markets that had expected it to remain unchanged at 4.9% for a fifth consecutive period. This was the lowest rate since the three months to July 2025. The number of unemployed people fell by 47,000 from the previous quarter to 1.712 million, driven by declines among those unemployed for up to 6 months and between 6 and 12 months. Compared with the same period a year earlier, unemployment was down by 26,000.
Over the same period, total employment increased by 102,000 on the quarter and by 356,000 on the year to 34.577 million. The employment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, reaching 75.3%.
The number of people holding second jobs rose in the latest quarter to 1.294 million, representing 3.7% of all those in employment. Meanwhile, the economic inactivity rate edged down by 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter to 20.9%.
