The number of unemployed persons in The United Kingdom increased to 1672.40 Thousand in March of 2026 from 1667.40 Thousand in February of 2026. Unemployed Persons in the United Kingdom averaged 1549.92 Thousand from 1971 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 3090.00 Thousand in July of 1986 and a record low of 422.60 Thousand in December of 1973. source: Office for National Statistics

Unemployed Persons in the United Kingdom is expected to be 1710.00 Thousand by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United Kingdom Unemployed Persons is projected to trend around 1810.00 Thousand in 2027, according to our econometric models.



Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Average Weekly Hours 31.70 31.70 Hours Mar 2026
Claimant Count Change 26.50 4.90 Thousand Apr 2026
Employed Persons 34392.00 34328.00 Thousand Mar 2026
Employment Change 148.00 24.00 Thousand Mar 2026
Employment Rate 75.00 75.00 percent Mar 2026
Full Time Employment 25642.00 25584.00 Thousand Mar 2026
Job Vacancies 705.00 712.00 Thousand Mar 2026
Labor Force Participation Rate 79.10 79.00 percent Mar 2026
Labour Costs 112.50 111.50 points Dec 2025
HMRC Payrolls Change -99.96 -28.22 Thousand Apr 2026
Part Time Employment 8750.00 8743.00 Thousand Mar 2026
Population 69.49 69.28 Million Dec 2025
Labour Productivity 99.99 99.10 points Mar 2026
Unemployed Persons 1672.40 1667.40 Thousand Mar 2026
Unemployment Rate 5.00 4.90 percent Mar 2026
Average Earnings incl. Bonus (3Mo/Yr) 4.10 3.90 percent Mar 2026
Average Weekly Wages 749.00 746.00 GBP/Week Mar 2026
Wages in Manufacturing 819.00 816.00 GBP/Week Mar 2026
Youth Unemployment Rate 14.70 14.30 percent Mar 2026


United Kingdom Unemployed Persons
The number of unemployed persons refers to the claimant count which is a full count of the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) each month.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
1672.40 1667.40 3090.00 422.60 1971 - 2026 Thousand Monthly
Volume, SA