Enlightening UK Unemployment Statistics for 2024

The historical data suggests that this is the lowest unemployment rate the United Kingdom has seen since 1974. In comparison, just a year ago, in June 2021, the unemployment rate in the UK was 1% higher, at 4.60%. The current unemployment rate is almost twice as low as the long-term average of 6.78%.

(YCharts)

UK unemployment figures reveal that the largest number of unemployed Britons, or 429,000, are aged between 16 and 24, while another 301,000 are between 25 and 34 years old. Furthermore, 272,000 Brits aged between 35 and 49 and 261,000 between 50 and 64 are out of a job. On the other hand, the age group with the fewest unemployed is Britons over 65, with only 30,000 unemployed.

(Statista)

Just 0.5% percentage points lower than the unemployment rate in England, at 3.2%, Wales has the second-highest unemployment rate in the UK. Moreover, the difference between Wales’ and Scotland’s unemployment rates is even smaller, at 0.1% percentage point. With 3.1%, Scotland has the second-best, while Northern Ireland has the lowest unemployment rate in the kingdom, with only 2.9%.

(Statista)

Other large cities with high claimant unemployment rates include Bradford with 6.7%, Hull with 6%, Luton with 5.8%, and Liverpool with 5.5%. Unemployment in London is neither high nor low, and the claimant unemployment rate in the Kingdom’s capital is 4.5%. On the end of the spectrum, cities with the lowest claimant rates include York with 1.8%, Exeter with 1.9%, Edinburgh, Cambridge, and Aldershot with 2.4%.

(Centre for Cities)

In comparison, the unemployment rate in the Faroe Islands is 1%, in Liechtenstein, it’s 1.9%, and in Switzerland, it’s 2%. In global terms, the UK unemployment rate is further down in the rankings, in 39th place, out of 195 countries. Compared to the other global economies, the only country with a lower unemployment rate than the UK is Japan, whose rate is 2.6%. Furthermore, the USA has a 3.7%, China has a 5.3%, Germany has a 5.5%, and France has a 7.4% unemployment rate. Finally, in the G20, only six countries have a lower unemployment rate than the UK, and those are Switzerland, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, and Australia.

(Trading Economics)

Statistics reveal that the unemployment rate of the Bangladeshi British has remained the same from the start of the pandemic, in March 2020. Similarly, the Black British unemployment rate was 8.9% before the pandemic started and has increased by only 0.1% in the next two years, reaching 9% in 2022. However, the unemployment rate of Chinese British has increased more significantly in the same period, from 4.7% in 2020 to 7.2% in 2022.

Furthermore, the unemployment statistics for the UK in 2022 also reveal an increase in the rates for Britons with Pakistani and Indian backgrounds, from 5.9% to 7.6% and 3.7% to 4.1%, respectively. White British is the only ethnic group with a decreased unemployment rate, from 3.6% in 2020 to 3.1% in 2022.

(Parliament)

By ethnic background and sex, White British women had the lowest unemployment rate in the country, with 3.5%, while the rate for women from minority backgrounds was 8.9%.

More precisely, the unemployment figures for 2021 show that 10.6% of Black women, 11.7% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women, and 5% of Indian women were jobless. Similarly, White men were the least unemployed ethnic background among the males, with a 4.2% rate, while the rate for men from ethnic minority backgrounds was 7.3%.

To be exact, 8% of Black men, 9.8% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani men, and 4% of Indian men were unemployed in the UK in 2021.

(Parliament)

The UK youth unemployment statistics reveal that nearly one in every three of the youngest Black Britons was unemployed in 2021. At the same time, one out of five, or 20%, of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi British, aged between 16 and 24, was out of a job as well. Moreover, 11% of the White Britons from the same age group struggled with unemployment as well, while the unemployment rate for Indian British of the same age was the lowest, at 10%. Finally, the total unemployment rate for Britons aged between 16 and 24 in 2021 was 12.6%.

(Parliament)

UK unemployment statistics by age group reveal that White Britons were the least unemployed ethnic group in this age bracket, with an unemployment rate of only 3%. Furthermore, 4% of the Indian British, 7% of the Black, and 9% of the Bangladeshi and Pakistani Brits aged between 25 and 49 were jobless in 2021. In addition, 6% of Britons from other ethnic groups, such as Chinese, other Asian, and mixed ethnic backgrounds of this age, were also unemployed.

(Parliament)

The UK unemployment rate by age statistics show that Britons over the age of 50 were the age group with the lowest unemployment rate in 2021, with only 3.2%. The least unemployed ethnic group from this age bracket were the White British, with a rate of only 3%, followed by Indian British with 5%. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for Black Britons over 50 was 6%, and so was the rate for British from other ethnic groups, such as Chinese, other Asian, and mixed ethnic backgrounds. Lastly, 8% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani British over 50 were without a job in 2021 as well.

(Parliament)

The latest stats show that the UK unemployment trends from 2021, women experiencing a lower unemployment rate than men, remained steady in 2022 too. Also, Britons over the age of 50 remain the least unemployed age group, with an even lower unemployment rate of only 2.5%. By gender, 2.6% of UK men and 2.5% of UK women over 50 were unemployed in 2022, with 41% of men and 32.3% of women being out of a job for more than 12 months.

(ONS)

The current unemployment rate statistics show that the above age group is the only one where male Britons are less unemployed (2.8%) than females (3.3%). Moreover, the data reveals that 35.5% of these men and 21.3% of these women have been unemployed for longer than a year. Furthermore, 7.6% of Britons aged between 18 and 24 are currently unemployed, with men’s rate standing at 9.3% and women’s at 5.7%. Finally, 15.3% of 16-17-year-old British women and 28.5% of British men of the same age are out of a job at the moment.

(ONS)

This is the industry with the highest percentage of unemployment in the Kingdom, and the above percentage translates to 99,000 people without a job. More precisely, 6% or 52,000 of the men and 5.1% or 47,000 of the women in this sector are unemployed. Moreover, 30,000 of these workers have been out of a job for longer than a year, accounting for 16.4% of the total long-term unemployment in the UK.

(ONS)

Wholesale, retail, and repair of motor vehicles is the industry with the largest number of jobless workers and the second highest percentage of unemployment at 3,9%. The data further reveals that 26,000 of these people have been unemployed for over 12 months, which is a 14.1% share of the total number of long-term unemployed in the country. By gender, the statistics for unemployment in the UK show that men in this sector are considerably more affected than women, with a 78,000 to 63,000 ratio.

(ONS)

The information and communication sector is the one with the lowest percentage of unemployed male workers. In absolute figures, 12,000 UK men in this sector are currently out of a job. The percentage of jobless women in this sector is slightly higher, at 3.2%. Unemployment figures for the UK reveal that there are 16,000 British women whose last job was in the information and communication sector and are currently struggling with unemployment.

(ONS)

The stats show that only 1% of the women and 1.3% of the men in this sector are currently unemployed. These percentages translate to 13,000 female and 16,000 male workers in the UK. Furthermore, 9,000 of these workers have been out of a job for longer than a year, and they account for 5.1% of all the long-term unemployed in the country.

(ONS)