Unemployment – National: Key Economic Indicators

There were 1.38 million unemployed people in the UK in Sep-Nov 2021, a fall of 128,000 from the previous quarter and a fall of 356,000 from the year before.

The unemployment rate was 4.1% (the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed), down from 4.5% from the previous quarter and down from 5.1% from the year before.   

The rate reached a post-recession high of 8.5% in late 2011.

Young people

453,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed, down 45,000 from the previous quarter and down 137,000 from the year before. The unemployment rate for 16‑24 year olds was 11.1%, down from 14.8% a year before.

Men and women

The unemployment rate for men was 4.2% and the unemployment rate was 3.9% for women.

Forecasts

In their October 2021 Economic and fiscal outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast unemployment to peak at 5.25% in Q4 2021. This is much lower than their previous forecast in March 2021, of a peak of 6.5%.

The Treasury’s January 2022 survey of independent forecasts showed an average forecast of 4.4% for Q4 2021 and 4.1% for Q4 2022.