UK Employment Unexpectedly Rises

2026-03-19 07:27 By Kyrie Dichosa 1 min. read

The number of employed people in the United Kingdom rose by 84 thousand to 34.310 million in the three months to January 2026, exceeding expectations of a 4 thousand decline and following a 52 thousand increase in the previous period.

This marks the largest job growth since late August, driven by gains in both full-time and part-time employment.

Compared with a year earlier, employment increased by 388 thousand, largely due to a rise in the number of employees.

The employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 rose by 0.2 percentage points to 75.1%.

The number of people holding second jobs remained largely unchanged at 1.302 million, representing 3.8% of the employed population.



News Stream
UK Employment Unexpectedly Rises
The number of employed people in the United Kingdom rose by 84 thousand to 34.310 million in the three months to January 2026, exceeding expectations of a 4 thousand decline and following a 52 thousand increase in the previous period. This marks the largest job growth since late August, driven by gains in both full-time and part-time employment. Compared with a year earlier, employment increased by 388 thousand, largely due to a rise in the number of employees. The employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 rose by 0.2 percentage points to 75.1%. The number of people holding second jobs remained largely unchanged at 1.302 million, representing 3.8% of the employed population.
2026-03-19
UK Employment Rises 52K in December
The number of employed people in the United Kingdom rose by 52 thousand to 34.244 million in the three months to December 2025, marking a second consecutive increase following an 82 thousand rise in the previous period. The growth was largely driven by increases in employee numbers, while full-time employment decreased and part-time employment rose. Compared with a year earlier, employment increased by 381 thousand, supported by gains in both employees and part-time workers. Meanwhile, the employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 edged down by 0.1 percentage points to 75.0%. The number of individuals holding second jobs decreased slightly to 1.287 million, representing 3.8% of the employed population.
2026-02-17
UK Employment Rises More Than Expected
The number of employed people in the United Kingdom rose by 82,000 to 34.303 million in the three months to November 2025, exceeding expectations of a 27,000 increase and following a 16,000 decline in the previous period. The growth was largely driven by higher employee numbers, while full-time self-employment declined and part-time self-employment rose. Compared with a year earlier, employment increased by 513,000, supported by gains in both employees and part-time self-employed workers. Meanwhile, the employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 remained unchanged at 75.1%. The number of individuals holding second jobs rose slightly to 1.294 million, representing 3.8% of the employed population.
2026-01-20