The UK unemployment rate rose to a four-year high and the employment rate continued to decline in the three months to November as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic added pressure on economic activity. The jobless rate rose 0.6 percentage points from the previous quarter to 5 percent in three months to November, labor force survey results from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. This was the highest since early 2016 but below economists' forecast of 5.1 percent.
The extension of the furlough scheme from October 31, 2020 to April 30, 2021 has been effective in preventing another surge in job losses, Thomas Pugh, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.