Posted 1 year ago •
In the period between June and August 2024, wage growth across the economy remained strong, the employment rate increased, and high inactivity rate persisted. This paints a mixed picture of the labour market, with conditions cooling but limited labour pool hindering business’s ability to grow.
In the quarter to February 2026, the unemployment level and rate fell, employment levels rose slightly but the employment rate decreased, and wage growth continued to slow. There was also a notable uptick in economic inactivity, and vacancies have fallen even further.
In the quarter to December 2025, unemployment and redundancy levels both rose, the employment rate fell slightly and strong private sector wage growth has continued to slow. Provisional estimates suggest that vacancies are struggling to grow, and inactivity levels decreased slightly, but remain stubbornly high. As such, the UK labour market picture is broadly unchanged from recent months, but there is a growing challenge of people wanting to work, being unable to find it.