ONS latest | Unemployment rises & vacancies fall in latest Labour Market Outlook

The UK jobs market showed further signs of weakening this week as the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in the three months to April 2025 - its highest level since late 2021 - while the number of payrolled employees fell sharply.

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), provisional data shows a drop of 109,000 payrolled employees in May, following a revised fall of 55,000 in April.

Job vacancies also continued their prolonged slide, falling by 63,000 to 736,000 in the quarter to May, now below pre-pandemic levels and marking the 35th consecutive quarterly fall. Although economic inactivity edged down slightly to 21.3%, broader trends point to a labour market under increasing strain.

Average regular pay growth slowed to 5.2%, and with inflation factored in, real wages are still growing modestly. However, wage pressures remain a key concern for employers already grappling with higher national insurance contributions and minimum wage rises introduced in April.