Unemployment – National: Key Economic Indicators

In February 2024, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reintroduced Labour Force Survey (LFS) data, which also includes a population reweighting. This is after only some experimental headline data was published between October 2023 and January 2024 due to falling response rates. The ONS have said that the reintroduced LFS estimates should be treated with additional caution. The Library briefing UK Labour market statistics provides more information.

There were 1.49 million unemployed people in the UK in Jul to Sep 2024, an increase of 79,000 from the previous year.

The unemployment rate was 4.3% (the percentage of the economically active population who are unemployed), up from 4.1% a year before.

627,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed in Jul to Sep 2024, 128,000 more than the year before.

The unemployment rate for 16‑24 year olds was 14.8%, an increase from 12.1% a year before.

This briefing is part of our Economic Indicators series. Visit the main Economic Indicators page to see data on other parts of the economy.