ONS Labour Market September 2026

Payrolls continue to soften

Payrolled employees fell by 101,000 (0.3%) between July 2025 and July 2026.
Compared with the previous month, payroll numbers decreased by 19,000 (0.1%).
Across May to July 2026, payrolled employees declined by 84,000 (0.3%) YoY and by 39,000 (0.1%) on the quarter.
The early estimate for August 2026 suggests a decrease of 145,000 (0.5%) on the year and 26,000 (0.1%) on the month, leaving total payrolled employees at 30.2 million (provisional and subject to revision).

Employment stable, unemployment unchanged

The UK employment rate for people aged 16-64 was 75.1% in May to July 2026, down 0.1 percentage points on the year but broadly unchanged on the quarter.
The unemployment rate stood at 4.9%, up 0.2 percentage points on the year but broadly unchanged on the quarter.
Total employment stood at 34.5 million people, up 66,000 on the quarter and 243,000 on the year.

Inactivity edges down as claimant numbers rise

The economic inactivity rate for people aged 16-64 stood at 20.9%, down 0.1 percentage points on both the year and the quarter.
The Claimant Count increased on both the month and the year to 1.692 million in August 2026 (provisional).

Vacancies continue to decline

Job vacancies fell by 8,000 (1.1%) on the quarter to 702,000 in June to August 2026.
Vacancies have remained broadly flat since the start of the year but are now around their lowest non-pandemic level since 2014, with higher labour costs weighing on recruitment among smaller firms.

Pay growth continues to ease

Regular earnings excluding bonuses increased by 3.5% YoY, while total earnings including bonuses rose by 3.9% in May to July 2026.
Public sector regular pay growth was 6.3%, compared with 2.9% in the private sector.
In real terms:
- CPIH-adjusted earnings rose by 0.6% for regular pay and 0.9% for total pay.
- CPI-adjusted earnings increased by 0.8% for regular pay and 1.1% for total pay.

Workforce jobs slow

The number of workforce jobs stood at 36.7 million in June 2026, down 48,000 (0.1%) on the quarter but up 60,000 (0.2%) on the year.

Labour disputes remain limited

An estimated 34,000 working days were lost because of labour disputes across the UK in July 2026, down from 47,000 in June.

The estimated number of vacancies has seen a quarterly decrease of 8,000 to 702,000