United Kingdom · data to Jul 2026
How are jobs?
Good.
Unemployment is 4.7%, below its 20-year average of 5.5%. Work is easier than usual to find.
For context: 4.7% is lower than 76% of all 666 figures since 1971.
This data is 4 months old and may be due for an update.
Unemployment rate
Share of people who want work and can't find it, with the 20-year average
The strip under the chart shows the verdict each period would get by today's rules:Good OK Bad
See the latest numbers
| Period | Value | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | 4.7% | Good |
| Jun 2026 | 4.9% | Good |
| May 2026 | 4.9% | Good |
| Apr 2026 | 4.9% | Good |
| Mar 2026 | 4.9% | Good |
| Feb 2026 | 5.0% | Good |
| Jan 2026 | 4.9% | Good |
| Dec 2025 | 5.2% | OK |
| Nov 2025 | 5.2% | OK |
| Oct 2025 | 5.1% | OK |
| Sep 2025 | 5.1% | OK |
| Aug 2025 | 5.0% | Good |
Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey, unemployment rate, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted (three months to each month) · Series MGSX (LMS) · Latest Jul 2026
How we judged this
What we test: How much the figure has changed over 1 year; then how far the latest figure sits above or below its 20-year average. Right now that's -0.1 pts over 1 year and -0.8 pts against the 20-year average.
- Bad if it’s up 1.00 pts or more on a year earlier, whatever the rules below say
- Good if under -0.50 pts against its 20-year averageapplies now
- OK if from -0.50 pts to under +0.75 pts against its 20-year average
- Bad if anything the rules above don’t cover
Rules are checked from the top. The first one that fits decides the verdict.
About this data
- Measure
- Unemployment rate
- Latest
- 4.7% (Jul 2026)
- Published
- Monthly, by ONS
- Verdict counts for
- Equal weight with the others in the overall verdict
Lower is better. We compare it with the long-run average because there's no official target for unemployment.
A fast rise counts against it too: if unemployment is up 1 point or more on a year earlier, jobs are Bad whatever the average says. In a downturn unemployment can climb quickly while still sitting below a long-run average pulled up by past slumps.
Each figure covers three months, ending in the month shown.
Treat recent figures with some caution: fewer people have been answering the Labour Force Survey since 2023, and the ONS has flagged that its estimates are less reliable than they were.