Employment in the UK: Economic indicators

Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.

In February 2024, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reintroduced Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, which also includes a population reweighting. The ONS have said these estimates should be treated with additional caution.

33.9 million people were in employment in November to January 2025, which was 608,000 more than the year before.

In November to January 2025, 25.501 million people were working full-time while 8.43 million were working part-time. 4.39 million were self-employed and 29.36 million were working as employees.

The employment rate has been between 74% and 76% since 2016. It increased from 74% in 2016 to 76% at the end of 2019, but fell to 74% at the end of 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic.  Levels have increased to around 75% since then.

Next updates

This page is updated when new data is published. The next source updates will be:

• ONS, Labour Market Statistics, 20 March 2025