Unemployment in the United Kingdom - Statistics & Facts
The unemployment rate in the United Kingdom was 3.7 percent in January 2023, one of the lowest rates of unemployment recorded since 1974. Overall, this meant that there were approximately 1.25 million people that were unemployed as of this month, half the number that were out of work in 2011, following the global financial crisis. Although there was a temporary uptick in unemployment in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the unemployment rate peak at 5.1 percent in late 2020, this was lower than was initially feared when the pandemic started. Between April 2020 and October 2021 the job retention scheme, had approximately 11.7 million jobs on furlough, and was likely one of the main reasons unemployment was not much higher during this time. Unemployment is also expected to remain low for the near future, with the forecast for the annual unemployment rate being 4.1 percent in 2023, and 4.4 percent in 2024.
When looking at the gender of those that are unemployed, men had a higher unemployment rate in January 2023 than that of women, at 3.8 percent, compared with 3.6 percent. In this month there were 674,000 men and 578,000 women unemployed compared with approximately 950,000 men and 788,000 a two-years earlier in January 2021.
Demographics of the unemployed
Age is an important factor in the unemployment rate. Among those that were aged between 16 and 24, the unemployment rate in January 2023 was 10.8 percent, while for older age groups, the unemployment rate was below the national average. When youth unemployment is broken down further, those aged 16 to 17 had an even higher unemployment rate than those aged 18 to 24, at 21.3 percent, compared with 9.5 percent. The high rate of unemployment seen among young people can be attributed to the fact that many will have just left compulsory education and be entering the workforce for the very first time. Young people will also lack the work experience that older age groups have, and may find it harder to get a job on this basis.When looking at the gender of those that are unemployed, men had a higher unemployment rate in January 2023 than that of women, at 3.8 percent, compared with 3.6 percent. In this month there were 674,000 men and 578,000 women unemployed compared with approximately 950,000 men and 788,000 a two-years earlier in January 2021.
