UK unemployment rate falls to 4%

The UK unemployment rate has fallen further this month, to 4%, and, as young people in England and Wales await their A-level results on Thursday 16 August, the proportion of young people who are unemployed and not in full-time education is at a record low of 4.7%.

Figures released by the Department for Work & Pensions also show there are a record number of older people in work – over 10.2 million.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey said:

With the UK unemployment rate falling further to just 4%, and youth unemployment down over 45% since 2010, school leavers this week can look forward to a growing jobs market, improving the prospects for their future careers.

In fact, the UK’s vibrant jobs market is benefiting people across the board. Record rates of ethnic minority people in work also show that more families across our society are benefiting from the security of a job, with wages also on the increase.

We have some of the most creative, innovative and hard-working young people in the world and this summer I’ve been urging them to take on a summer job, gaining ‘soft skills’ – or as I call them, essential skills – for their future careers.

UK Employment rate 75.6%

Today’s figures also show:

• older workers also continue to find work as the number of workers aged 50 and over is at a record high of 10.21 million
• the BME employment rate is at a record high of 65.5%, an increase of 1% on the year
• since 2010 the majority of employment growth has been in both full-time and permanent roles
• there was also a large fall in zero-hour contracts in April to June 2018, making up only 2.4% of people in employment – a fall of 104,000 on the year

Source: DWP