The Work Foundation at Lancaster University responded to the labour market figures for January 2026 released by the Office for National Statistics.

The key statistics were:

• One in three workless adults aged 16-64 want to work (35.7%). The total figure is 3,862,798, with 385,000 more people wanting to work than a year ago
• Unemployment is at 5.1%. London has the highest level of any UK region at 7.2%
• Youth unemployment continues to rise and is up on the quarter and on the year. There are 561,000 unemployed people aged 18-24 (13.7%)
• Economic inactivity is steady at 20.8% (nine million people) but nearly a quarter of those people (23%) say they want to work
• Vacancies are stable at 734,000, but there are 85,000 fewer vacancies than before the pandemic.

Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University commented:

“Today’s data shows 3.86 million workless adults want a job, but weak vacancy levels and fragile employer confidence mean jobseekers are facing an increasingly competitive labour market. Worryingly for Ministers, there are signs unemployment may not yet have peaked.

“The UK’s ‘tight’ labour market has clearly eased. While recent years were marked by high vacancies and rising wages, we now have around 380,000 more people wanting to work than a year ago. This includes both more active jobseekers and rising numbers of economically inactive people — such as students and those with long-term health conditions — who say they want a job.

“For those actively looking for work, young jobseekers and people in London – where figures indicate the unemployment rate has climbed to 7.2% – are facing the biggest challenges. As a key bellwether for the national economy, this is bad news for jobseekers in the capital and risks being replicated elsewhere without intervention.

“Vacancies across the UK are now more than 85,000 below pre-pandemic levels, while redundancies are increasing in some sectors. With more people chasing fewer jobs, finding work is becoming harder – especially for those out of work for longer periods or at the start of their career.

“Nearly four million workless people wanting a job should be a major opportunity for a Government that came to power 18 months ago pledging to raise the employment to 80%. But delivering on that ambition will require concrete action to boost business confidence, drive investment and create more secure, flexible jobs across the UK in 2026.”