UK Labour Market Update
September 2025
The latest ONS Labour Market Overview gives us a mixed picture of the UK jobs market. Here is a summary of the key statistics.
Unemployment
4.7%
1.74 million people out of work
Youth (16-17) rate is 32.1%
Employment Rate
75.2%
34.24 million people in work
Economic Inactivity
21.1%
9.124 million people inactive
315k higher than pre-pandemic
Job Vacancies
728k
38th consecutive quarterly decline
2.23 unemployed people per vacancy
Payrolled Employees
30.3m
Dipped by 8,000 in August
Still 1.28m higher than pre-pandemic
Pay Growth
4.8%
Regular earnings
Adjusted for inflation: 1.2%
Claimant Count
1.686m
Rose slightly on the month
Redundancy Rates
3.5/1000
Steady with last quarter
Industrial Action
83k
Working days lost in July 2025
Mainly in health & care sectors
What This Means
The labour market remains tight, but the combination of rising unemployment, falling vacancies, and steady redundancy levels shows that conditions are shifting. Pay growth continues to outpace inflation, but not by much. For employers, competition for talent is easing slightly, though the challenge of engaging younger workers is becoming more pressing.