London tops UK unemployment in March-May 2026; Southeast leads jobs

The Southeast recorded the UK’s highest employment rate at 78.2 per cent, while London posted the highest unemployment rate at 6.5 per cent in March-May 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) latest regional labour market bulletin. Northern Ireland registered the lowest unemployment rate at 1.8 per cent but also the highest economic inactivity rate at 26.5 per cent.The ONS said the UK employment rate for people aged 16 to 64 stood at 75.1 per cent, while the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was 4.9 per cent. The economic inactivity rate among people aged 16 to 64 was 20.9 per cent during the March-May 2026 period.

Among England’s regions, the East recorded the second-highest employment rate at 78.1 per cent, followed by the Southwest at 77.9 per cent. The Northeast had the lowest employment rate at 71.5 per cent. Besides London, Yorkshire and The Humber (5.8 per cent) and the Northeast (5.7 per cent) also recorded relatively high unemployment rates.

The UK’s Southeast recorded the highest employment rate at 78.2 per cent in March-May 2026, while London posted the highest unemployment rate at 6.5 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) latest regional labour market bulletin.
Northern Ireland had the highest economic inactivity rate at 26.5 per cent.
Payrolled employment declined across all UK regions.

The bulletin also showed that the number of payrolled employees declined across all UK regions and countries except Northern Ireland, where payroll employment increased by 1.4 per cent in June 2026 compared with a year earlier.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (CG)