Labour Market In The Regions Of The UK - April 2024

16th April 2024

Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates have been reweighted for periods from July to September 2022; headline UK seasonally adjusted series before this have been modelled, but other series, including regional, have a discontinuity at this point and because of increased volatility of LFS estimates, estimates of quarterly change should be treated with additional caution.

The highest employment rate estimate in the UK was in the South East (78.3%) and the lowest was in Wales (69.1%), for the three months ending February 2024.

London saw the largest increase in the employment rate compared with the same period the previous year, increasing by 1.2 percentage points, with Wales seeing the largest decrease of 2.8 percentage points.

The highest unemployment rate estimate in the UK was in the East Midlands (5.9%) and the lowest was in Northern Ireland (2.2%), for the three months ending February 2024.

The East Midlands had the largest increase in the unemployment rate compared with the same period the previous year, increasing by 2.2 percentage points, with the North East seeing the largest decrease of 0.9 percentage points.

The highest economic inactivity rate estimate in the UK was in Wales (28.1%) and the lowest was in the South East (18.4%), for the three months ending February 2024.

Wales saw the largest increase in the economic inactivity rate compared with the same period the previous year, up 2.7 percentage points, with the West Midlands seeing the largest decrease of 1.1 percentage points.

Comparing March 2024 with the same period last year, changes in payrolled employees ranged from a 1.3% increase in Northern Ireland to a 0.4% increase in London.

Read the full ONS report HERE