Unemployment edges down to 14.9 percent, and so does the number of people in work

The National Institute of Statistics puts unemployment at 14.9 percent in the second quarter of 2026, against 15 percent in the first, or 622,400 people out of work rather than 641,700. Over the same three months the number of people in work fell by 58,200 to 3,568,100, and the labour force shrank by 77,500, taking the activity rate down 1.2 points to 44.7 percent. Not every group improved. Unemployment among women rose 0.9 points to 21.6 percent, and among higher-education graduates it rose 2.4 points to 26.6 percent, reaching 35.6 percent for women graduates. Among 15 to 24-year-olds it fell to 35.4 percent from 37.5.

← See the full edition