Unemployment rate,Percent in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Unemployment rate,Percent was 4.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
4.8%
Change on year
up 12.4%
World rank
39th
of 71 countries
All-time high
10.4%
in 1993
All-time low
3.8%
in 2022
Years of data
36
1990–2025

Unemployment rate,Percent in United Kingdom, 1990–2025

02.557.5101990200720251990: 7.11991: 8.81992: 101993: 10.41994: 9.51995: 8.71996: 8.11997: 71998: 6.31999: 62000: 5.52001: 5.12002: 5.22003: 52004: 4.82005: 4.82006: 5.42007: 5.32008: 5.72009: 7.62010: 7.92011: 8.12012: 82013: 7.62014: 6.22015: 5.42016: 4.92017: 4.42018: 4.12019: 3.92020: 4.62021: 4.52022: 3.82023: 4.12024: 4.32025: 4.8

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 4.8% for unemployment rate,percent in 2025.

That represents a change of up 12.4% on the previous year and down 10.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, unemployment rate,percent in United Kingdom peaked at 10.4% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2022.

United Kingdom ranks 39th of 71 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 8.2% 6.0% 10.4% 10
2000s 5.4% 4.8% 7.6% 10
2010s 6.0% 3.9% 8.1% 10
2020s 4.4% 3.8% 4.8% 6

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 36 Bulgaria 5.1% compare
  2. 37 Dominican Republic 5.1% compare
  3. 38 Slovakia 5.0% compare
  4. 40 Kazakhstan 4.8% compare
  5. 41 Sri Lanka 4.7% compare
  6. 42 Slovenia 4.6% compare

See the full ranking of 80 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is unemployment rate,percent in United Kingdom?
Unemployment rate,percent in United Kingdom was 4.8% in 2025, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest unemployment rate,percent recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 10.4% in 1993.
What is the lowest unemployment rate,percent recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2022.
How does United Kingdom rank for unemployment rate,percent?
United Kingdom ranks 39th out of 71 countries with data for 2025.
Is unemployment rate,percent rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Unemployment rate,Percent,,,. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Unemployment rate,Percent,,,
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
80 places, 2,196 data points, 1990–2026
Last refreshed