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United Kingdom — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for United Kingdom, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
4.75%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -44.5% since 1991
Unemployment for United Kingdom was 4.75% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 10.35% in 1993. The lowest was 3.66% in 2019 (about 1.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.72% per year.
United Kingdom ranks 108 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 58%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so United Kingdom sits below it. It peaked in 1993 and has fallen 54% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 15%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
4.75%
First (1991)
8.55%
Change
-44.5%
Highest
10.35%
in 1993
Lowest
3.66%
in 2019
Average
6.17%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.72%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.75% |
| 2024 | 4.36% |
| 2023 | 4.03% |
| 2022 | 3.77% |
| 2021 | 4.86% |
| 2020 | 4.47% |
| 2019 | 3.66% |
| 2018 | 4.14% |
| 2017 | 4.5% |
| 2016 | 4.91% |
| 2015 | 5.55% |
| 2014 | 6.4% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.