UK unemployment has remained on the highest price in 5 years, new official figures present.
The jobless price was to five.2% within the three months to January, the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) has mentioned.
Earlier than last month, such a excessive hadn’t been seen for the reason that three months to January 2021.
The will increase within the final three months had been “largely” as a result of younger folks, aged 18 to 24, the statistics physique mentioned.
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The yearly enhance, it mentioned, was as a result of rise in youth unemployment in addition to these aged 50 to 64 years.
The unemployment price amongst 18 to 24-year-olds rose 14.5% whereas the variety of folks on this age group out of labor and never in full-time schooling elevated to the very best price since 2014, 19.2%.
Whereas unemployment rose throughout the board, the impacts weren’t felt evenly: male unemployment is 5.5%, whereas feminine unemployment is 4.8%.
The ONS, nonetheless, has continued to advise warning when decoding modifications within the month-to-month unemployment price and job emptiness numbers over considerations concerning the reliability of the figures.
Why?
Employers have confronted larger prices for using workers as a result of rise in employers’ nationwide insurance coverage contributions in April.
Larger minimal wages for youthful staff contributed to the expansion in unemployment amongst that cohort, Catherine Mann, a senior Financial institution of England economist and rate of interest setter, mentioned final month.
Decrease pay rises
On the similar time, wage development was at its lowest in additional than 5 years, the ONS mentioned.
It means pay continues to be rising quicker than inflation, however extra slowly than earlier than, in each the non-public and public sectors.
Common pay, together with bonuses, rose 3.8%, whereas common weekly earnings, which embrace bonuses, elevated 3.9%.
It is a large fall. Only a month earlier, these measures of pay will increase had each been 4.2%.
Inexperienced shoots?
There are some indicators of a rebound within the jobs market, although, because the variety of payrolled workers rose barely in January.
The variety of job vacancies remained secure, in line with the ONS.
Smaller companies had been extra reluctant to rent workers and decreased the variety of vacancies they posted.
However that was made up by greater companies on the lookout for extra workers, the ONS added.
Redundancy numbers fell within the final three months, although they’re larger in comparison with a 12 months in the past.
The variety of folks reporting redundancy was 4.5 per 1,000 workers, from November 2025 to January 2026.
