UK Unemployment Rises to 5% as Wage Growth Slows

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Britain's unemployment rate rose to 5% in the 3 months to March, up from 4.9% according to the Office for National Statistics, ONS.

[00:00:11]Regular earnings growth slowed to 3.4% in the first quarter.

[00:00:17]Following a sharp pullback in hiring, payrolls fell by 100,000 in April, the largest drop since May 2020.

[00:00:26]Job vacancies slumped by 28,000 to 705,000, the lowest level in 5 years.

[00:00:35]Liz McKeown, ONS Director of Economic Statistics, said the labor market remains soft with hospitality and retail sectors seeing the largest declines.

[00:00:48]McKeown noted early figures carry greater uncertainty and have often seen larger than average upward revisions.

[00:00:57]Suren Thiru, Chief Economist for ICAEW, cited growing distress within the UK's labor market.

[00:01:08]Richard Carter of Quilter Cheviot warned falling payroll numbers could continue for some time as consumer demand weakens.

[00:01:19]Today's figures capture only the initial effects of the Iran conflict with full impacts on consumer demand expected to emerge in coming months.

[00:01:29]Policy makers will monitor ONS revisions as adjustments could materially alter labor market interpretations.