Unemployment up 0.2% in Q2 2026

The UK's labour market remains "stubbornly inflationary", with unemployment up 0.2% year-on-year in Q2 2026 to 4.9%. The number of payrolled employees fell 78,000 year-on-year to June 2026, although figures were largely unchanged on a monthly basis, decreasing by 13,000 (0%), according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Another 94,000 payrolled employees are estimated to have left work in July. The number of job vacancies also decreased, with early estimates for May to July 2026 showing a decline of 6,000 compared with February to April 2026 – the lowest number of ...