worldstat.us · United Kingdom · Cycle layer · Indicator
Unemployment rate
Fetched 18 Sep 2026, 10:02 UTC
Next release 20 October 2026
4.9 %
Post-trigger returned Jan 2026 · flat
As of Jun 2026 · Threshold > 12-month low + 0.5 pp
Recession, Jul 1973 to Mar 1974Recession, Apr 1975 to Sep 1975Recession, Jan 1980 to Mar 1981Recession, Jul 1990 to Sep 1991Recession, Apr 2008 to Jun 2009Recession, Jan 2020 to Jun 2020Recession, Jul 2023 to Dec 20234681012Threshold > 12-month low + 0.5 ppTrigger > 12-month low + 0.5 pp19801990200020102020
1971 to 2026 · percent. Shaded bands are recessions.
What it is

The Labour Force Survey unemployment rate, ages 16 and over, as a rolling three-month average. The threshold is the Sahm construction: half a point above the past year's low.

Threshold source: Sahm-rule construction applied to the UK rate. How thresholds are chosen

Known weaknesses

The Labour Force Survey has had response-rate problems since 2023 and the ONS labels the series as official statistics in development.