Unemployment international comparisons: Economic indicators
Unemployment data tells us about the strength of the labour market. Find the latest data on unemployment in several major world economies.

This note provides an overview of the historical background to the National Minimum Wage Act 1998.
The National Minimum Wage: historical background (255 KB , PDF)
This note provides an overview of the historical background to the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. It discusses the establishment of Trade Boards, which subsequently became Wages Councils; the abolition of Wages Councils; proposals for a national minimum wage in the run up to the 1992 and 1997 General Elections; and the enactment of the 1998 Act.
Further background information can be found in Library Research Papers 99/18, dated 19 February 1999, on the National Minimum Wage, and 97/133 dated 4 December 1997, on the National Minimum Wage Bill 1997/98.
The National Minimum Wage: historical background (255 KB , PDF)
Unemployment data tells us about the strength of the labour market. Find the latest data on unemployment in several major world economies.
Debt levels affect how much households spend. Find the latest data on UK household debt, mortgage rates and insolvencies.
This paper provides statistics on household food insecurity, food bank usage and free school meals in the UK, and tracks the impact of rising living costs.