The UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over remained largely unchanged between December 2024 to February 2025 compared to the previous quarter, whilst the employment rate increased to 75.1%.
Data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics showed a stagnation in unemployment rates coupled with a fall in the number of job vacancies to 26,000 in the first quarter of 2025. This is the first time since March to May 2021 that job vacancy numbers were below pre-pandemic figures.
Additionally, Polimapper’s visualisation highlights economic inactivity rates of 21.5% on a national level in 2024, and a variation in weekly hours worked between London, at 33.8 hours worked, and Wales, at 31.2 hours.
On a constituency level, in 2024, eight constituencies had employment rates of over 90%, with Arundel and South Downs recording the highest rate, at 97%. Conversely, this was lowest in Bradford West (54.4%) and Leeds Central and Headingley (54.6%).
Excluding constituencies with small sample sizes, unemployment was highest in Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, at 17%.
Leeds Central and Headingley, Tipton and Wednesbury, Bradford West and Glasgow East saw economic inactivity rates of over 40% and the Birmingham constituencies of Ladywood and Perry Barr registered claimant count rates over 13%.
Explore Polimapper’s visualisation for insights into statistics in your area below.
About this map
The map below shows Labour Market statistics by constituency. The indicators included are employment, unemployment, economic inactivity, and claimant count.
To view statistics in your area double click on the map or click here to launch the full page version!
Geodata comments
Neil Carberry, chief executive at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC): “Today’s data marks the end of a long spike in vacancies driven by the pandemic, with a 33rd straight month of decline bringing the number of open jobs below the February 2020 level for the first time. The real question now is whether this slowdown will now abate. There are some cautious reasons for optimism in employers’ reported views of their own business prospects, and in the relatively stable levels of unemployment and employment, and economic inactivity that is finally starting to drop. But there are also huge headwinds related to the sheer cost of employment, that the government would do well to take seriously as a threat to recovery. The recent rises in National Insurance, especially for low earners, and concern about the path of both the Employment Rights Bill and the path of the National Minimum Wage have taken some of the shine off the spring mood, and government needs to offer business more than warm words.”
Seemanti Ghosh, principal economist at the Institute for Employment Studies: “Against the backdrop of a slowing economy, marked by weaker productivity growth and dampened business sentiment, and with nearly one in five working-age adults out of the labour force, rolling out the government’s industrial strategy cannot come soon enough.”
Abigail Coxon, senior economist at Youth Futures Foundation: “Today’s labour market data from the ONS shows that youth unemployment continues to rise. Over the past year, the unemployment rate for people aged 16-24 not in full-time education has increased from 11.4% to 13.3%. This reflects an additional 77,000 young people who are unemployed. Economic inactivity among young people not in full-time education remains persistently high. It now stands at 20.1%, equivalent to around one in five.”
“Rising youth unemployment and inactivity is a pressing public policy challenge. Addressing the issue is not only essential for young people and their wellbeing but is key if the Government is to deliver on its ambitious growth agenda. Research tells us that if we could reduce our NEET rate to match the Netherlands – the lowest in the OECD – we could see an additional 500,000 young people in employment and increase our GDP by £69 billion.”