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Most labour market statistics in the UK come from the Labour Force Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics.

Key figures

  • In May to July 2026, the number of people aged 16+ in employment was 34.48 million. The employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 was 75.1%, down slightly from 75.2% a year earlier.
  • Labour Force Survey (LFS) data is less reliable than usual at the moment, partly due to a data collection mistake in May and June, and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said that the estimates from this survey should be considered alongside other labour market sources, such as the workforce jobs series or the estimates for payrolled employees using PAYE data.
  • Although LFS data suggests that there has been an increase in employment of 243,000 over the year to May to July 2026, this is different from the estimates from the other labour market sources:
    • The PAYE data shows a fall of 84,000 payrolled employees in the year to April to June 2026
    • The workforce jobs data, which is published every quarter, shows an increase of 61,000 jobs in the year to June 2026
  • LFS data suggests there has been an increase in employment over the quarter to May to July 2026, while there was a fall of 39,000 in the number of payrolled employees in this period.
  • The UK unemployment rate was 4.9%, and 1.78 million people aged 16+ were unemployed. Unemployment levels increased by 83,000 over the last year, and the unemployment rate has increased from 4.7%.
  • 9.12 million people aged 16 to 64 were economically inactive, and the inactivity rate was 20.9%. Inactivity levels have increased by 12,000 in the last year.
  • Vacancies fell over the year to 702,000 in June to August 2026, which is below pre-pandemic levels.
  • Average wages increased in real (inflation-adjusted) terms in the three months to July 2026, with an annual increase of 1.4% including bonuses and 0.7% excluding bonuses. Wages in cash terms rose at a rate of 3.9% including bonuses and 3.5% excluding bonuses.

The chart below summarises labour market trends since 2011.

Eight time series charts showing the trends in the UK labour market since 2011. Chart 1: The employment rate has been between 70% and 80% since 2011, it fell in 2020. Chart 2: The unemployment rate fell between 2011 and 2020, then spiked during the pandemic before falling again. It has been mostly slowly rising since 2023. Chart 3: The economic inactivity rate has been between 20% and 25% since 2011. It rose during the pandemic. Chart 4: Real average weekly wages including and excluding bonuses have remained relatively stable since 2011. They have been slowly rising since 2023. Chart 5: The number of full time workers has been slowly rising since 2011. The number of part-time workers has remained mostly stable, but dipped during the pandemic. Chart 6: The number of employees has been slowly rising since 2011. The number of self employed people has remained mostly stable, but dipped during the pandemic and has not recovered. Chart 7: Redundancies mostly fell between 2011 and 2029, then spiked during the pandemic and recovered quickly. Chart 8: Vacancies rose between 2011 and 2020, fell sharply in 2020 and then recovered quickly and increased sharply until the end of 2022, and have been falling since.

Reliability of Labour Force Survey data

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces labour market statistics using the Labour Force Survey (LFS). In recent years, fewer people have been responding to the LFS, which the ONS has identified as a challenge to data reliability. The number of responses fell to its lowest point in July to September 2023, and as a result, detailed LFS estimates were not published between October 2023 and January 2024 because of quality concerns.

Although the ONS started publishing LFS data again in February 2024, these figures were rebadged as ‘official statistics in development’, instead of ‘official statistics’. The number of responses has increased steadily since the low point in July to September 2023. In July 2026, the ONS said that the higher response rate “helps to increase the precision in our estimates” but “caution is still advised when assessing change over time periods” and “when analysing more detailed estimates”. In August 2026, the ONS reported that the figures will move back to being ‘official statistics’, but that “some volatility remains”.

The ONS has been working on a Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS), which will eventually replace the Labour Force Survey. This will be an online-first survey which will enable a larger sample size than the LFS and therefore should improve the quality of the survey estimates.

In August 2026, the ONS said that the earliest transition of the published headline labour market statistics to the TLFS will be in November 2027, following a review in July 2027. Until this transition, the ONS will continue to use the LFS. The ONS had previously said that the transition may have been possible in November 2026, following a ‘readiness assessment’ in July 2026.

The ONS had originally intended to incorporate TLFS data into the regular labour market data from autumn 2023.

Most of the statistics that are included in this briefing are taken from the LFS, and these statistics should be treated with more caution than usual. Section 5 provides further information. Some of the statistics in this briefing, such as vacancies and earnings, are taken from other surveys.

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