Unemployment – National: Key Economic Indicators

There were 1.67 million unemployed people in the UK in December 2020-February 2021, a fall of 50,000 from the previous quarter but an increase of 311,000 from the year before.

The unemployment rate was 4.9%, (the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed). This is down from 5.0% from the previous quarter but up from 4.0% from the previous year. The rate reached a post-recession high of 8.5% in late 2011.

Young people

575,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed, down 17,000 from the previous quarter but up 61,000 from the year before. The unemployment rate for 16 24 year olds was 14.3%, up from 11.8% a year before.

Men and women

919,000 men were unemployed, down 44,000 from the previous quarter but up 156,000 from the year before.

755,000 women were unemployed, down slightly from the previous quarter but up 154,000 from a year ago.

The unemployment rate for men was 5.2% and the unemployment rate was 4.6% for women.