Labour Market In The Regions Of The UK - June 2024 - Scotland Has Largest Increase Of 168,000

12th June 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.

In February to April 2024, the highest employment rate in the UK was in the South East (78.3%) and the lowest was in Wales (68.9%).

The largest decrease in the employment rate was in the North East, down 4.0 percentage points compared with estimates a year ago, while Northern Ireland was the only region to see an increase.

In February to April 2024, the highest unemployment rate was in the East Midlands (5.6%) and the lowest was in Northern Ireland (2.2%); the East Midlands also saw the largest increase compared with estimates a year ago, while Wales saw the largest decrease.

In February to April 2024, the highest economic inactivity rate was in Wales (28.4%) and the lowest was in the South East (18.7%); the North East saw the largest increase compared with estimates a year ago, while the East Midlands saw the largest decrease.

Between March 2023 and March 2024, workforce jobs increased in 9 out of 12 regions of the UK, with Scotland seeing the largest increase of 168,000; London had the highest proportion of service-based jobs (92.9%), while the East Midlands had the highest proportion of production sector jobs (12.0%).

Comparing May 2024 with the same period last year, changes in the number of payrolled employees ranged from a 1.6% increase in Northern Ireland, to a 0.2% increase in London.

Read the full report HERE