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Unemployment Levels Creep Up Again While Private Sector Wage Growth Falls

Posted around 4 months ago •

labour market update

Labour market update Jan 2026

In the quarter to November 2025, unemployment and redundancy levels rose, the employment rate held, and strong private sector wage growth has continued to show signs of easing. The number of vacancies across the economy was also broadly unchanged and inactivity remains stubbornly high. Therefore, the UK labour market picture is fundamentally the same, with cooling conditions increasingly being driven by business cost pressures.

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