January Labour Market Statistics: comment from the Institute for Employment Studies
20 Jan 2026
Commenting on today's figures, Naomi Clayton, Chief Executive at the Institute for Employment Studies said:
"The labour market is continuing to weaken. Payrolled employment has fallen by over 90,000 in the last quarter – the largest fall outside the pandemic. Vacancies appear to have stabilised but remain well below the pre-pandemic peak. Unemployment remains at the highest rate in four years at 5.1% and there are still 2.1 million people who are outside the labour force who want to work.
"Increases in unemployment have been largely driven by young people who have been affected by the slowdown in hiring, and the youth unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in 10 years, including the pandemic. The government needs to work with employers to create more job and training opportunities for young people, encourage hiring and to increase support so they can access those opportunities."
Read further analysis here.