More people out of work. Fewer jobs on offer. Pay barely keeping up.
Unemployment has risen sharply over the past year. Vacancies are at a five-year low. And April's payroll data showed the largest monthly drop in years.
1.78 million people looking for work
Employment rate: 75.0% — broadly stable
March 2026
Official statistics in development
(monthly drop)
(year-on-year)
Feb – Apr 2026
Down 54% from 2022 peak of 1.3m
Year to Jan – Mar 2026
Falling for second consecutive year
A year ago, unemployment stood at 4.4%. Today it is 5.0% — nearly 1.8 million people actively looking for work and unable to find it. Job vacancies have more than halved from their 2022 peak, and the hard administrative data from HMRC shows payrolled employment has been falling for two consecutive years.
On pay, nominal wages of 3.4% sound reasonable — until you account for inflation. Real regular pay growth is just +0.1%. Private sector workers are effectively standing still. The public sector premium reflects the timing of last year's pay awards and will narrow from next month.
The April payroll figure is provisional and will be revised — but the direction is consistent with everything else in this release. The cost of employing people rose sharply in April 2023 and again in April 2025. Those costs take time to feed through into headcount decisions. They are now doing so. The government's tax receipts depend on a growing payroll. The payroll is not growing.
⚠ LFS figures (unemployment, employment, inactivity) are official statistics in development — use alongside other measures. HMRC PAYE data are accredited official statistics and the most reliable employment indicator. April 2026 PAYE figures are provisional and subject to revision.