Labour Market In The Regions Of The Uk: June 2023

13th June 2023

For the three months ending April 2023, the highest employment rate estimate in the UK was in the South East (78.6%) and the lowest was in Wales (71.8%).

The North East saw the largest increase in the employment rate compared with the same period last year, increasing by 3.1 percentage points, with Wales seeing the largest decrease of 2.2 percentage points.

For the three months ending April 2023, the highest unemployment rate estimates in the UK were in both the West Midlands and Wales (4.8%) and the lowest was in Northern Ireland (2.4%).

Wales had the largest increase in the unemployment rate compared with the same period last year, increasing by 1.3 percentage points, with the North East seeing the largest decrease of 1.6 percentage points.

For the three months ending April 2023, the highest economic inactivity rate estimate in the UK was in Northern Ireland (25.8%) and the lowest was in the East of England (18.0%).

Wales saw the largest increase in the economic inactivity rate compared with the same period last year, up 1.1 percentage points, with the North East seeing the largest decrease of 2.2 percentage points.

Between December 2022 and March 2023, workforce jobs increased in 9 out of 12 regions of the UK, with London seeing the largest increase of 176,000, while Wales and Scotland both fell by 11,000 and Yorkshire and The Humber fell by 5,000; London had the highest proportion of service-based jobs (92.6%), while Yorkshire and The Humber had the highest proportion of production sector jobs (12.8%).

All regions have seen growth in the number of payrolled employees since the end of last year, however the latest May 2023 figures show falls for some regions.

Read the full report HERE