UK Unemployment rate rises to 5.2%

New figures released today show that unemployment in the UK rose to its highest rate in nearly five years at the end of 2025.

The unemployment rate climbed to 5.2% in the three months to December, from 5.1% in the three months to November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The rise in unemployment came as annual wage growth slowed, dropping to its lowest level in almost four years. The UK's economic growth has dampened, with a backdrop of slower hiring as businesses cut back due to higher costs.

The ONS says that estimates numbers of employees on payrolls in the UK fell by 121,000 (0.4%) between December 2024 and December 2025, and by 6,000 between November 2025 and December 2025. This is based administrative data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

When looking at the quarter from October to December 2025, to compare with ONS  Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates, the number of employees fell by 130,000 (0.4%) compared with the previous over the year and by 46,000 (0.2%) over the quarter.

The position is even worse for young workers, The ONS data says that the unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds is 16.1%.



This ONS chart shows that during the Cameron and May years, the coalition and then Conservative governments secured a major reduction in  unemployment, better than halving the 8% unemployment rate inherited from the previous Labour government. 





Unemployment then spiked during the Coronavirus pandemic recession, but was back below 2019 levels by 2022. However, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the consequent energy price shock, the unemployment rate started to rise again, and this rise has continued under Labour.  

You can read the ONS report at:

Labour market overview, UK - Office for National Statistics



Well, what a surprise. Anyone with a working brain - which clearly excludes Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband - should have seen this coming.

If you hit British business, at the same time, with a £40 billion rise in Employers National Insurance contributions, which are effectively a tax on employing people, lots of extra regulations around employing people and high energy costs, then of course it is going to affect how many people they can afford to hire.


High wages are a good thing as long as you don't set them so high that employers cannot afford them. Which means that you need to encourage flexible working practices and investment so that productivity increases to pay for wage rises. A major reason for Britain's economic woes is that productivity growth has stagnated, and Labour policies are making that worse, not better.


Kemi Badenoch said:

"Unemployment at a 5 YEAR HIGH under Labour. While Keir Starmer is distracted by scandals and endless U-turns, families are being punished.

Labour are killing jobs, killing growth and killing hope for the next generation.

Only the Conservatives have a plan to get Britain working."

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