Unemployment in Britain rose to 4.2% in the second quarter of 2023

The UK unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in the second quarter of 2023, the highest level since late 2021 and above market expectations and the previous level of 4%.

This rise was supported by the number of unemployed persons for a period of up to 6 months.

The rate of inactive people in the economy fell 0.1 percentage point in the quarter to 20.9%, driven largely by people who are inactive because they take care of family or home, while those who are inactive due to illness rose to a record high.

Meanwhile, the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 75.7%, driven by full-time employees and the self-employed.

The estimate of related employees for the month of July 2023 shows a monthly increase of 97 thousand to 30.2 million employees.