Unemployment continues to rise while wage growth slows.
This month's figures continue to present signs of a cooling labour market: vacancies are continuing to drop, unemployment levels rose, and nominal regular wage growth has plateaued back to 5% after intermittently hovering at 6% over the past year. This also suggests that the labour market is in a state of weakening and addressing labour market challenges remains a top policy imperative.
The UK employment rate (for people aged 16 to 64 years) was estimated at 75.2% in the period March to May 2025, up on the quarter and above estimates from the same time last year. The UK unemployment rate (for people aged 16 years and over) was estimated at 4.7% across the same period, which is also an increase on the quarter and the year.
The UK economic inactivity rate for people aged 16 to 64 years was estimated at 21.0% in the three months to May 2025, which is slightly down on the qua
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