Posted 2 years ago •
The latest ONS data cover the period from September to November 2023 and show a labour market that remains tight overall but continues to soften.
The employment rate, unemployment rate and economic inactivity remained broadly unchanged from the last quarter (75.7%, 4.2% and 20.9% respectively).
In the quarter to December 2025, unemployment and redundancy levels both rose, the employment rate fell slightly and strong private sector wage growth has continued to slow. Provisional estimates suggest that vacancies are struggling to grow, and inactivity levels decreased slightly, but remain stubbornly high. As such, the UK labour market picture is broadly unchanged from recent months, but there is a growing challenge of people wanting to work, being unable to find it.
In the quarter to November 2025, unemployment and redundancy levels rose, the employment rate held, and strong private sector wage growth has continued to show signs of easing. The number of vacancies across the economy was also broadly unchanged and inactivity remains stubbornly high. Therefore, the UK labour market picture is fundamentally the same, with cooling conditions increasingly being driven by business cost pressures.