Unemployment in GB surprisingly drops to 4.7% in view of the budget

The unemployment rate in the UK surprisingly fell to 4.7% in the June-August period, from 4.9% in the previous quarter, reaching its lowest level since May-July 2025, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced today. Analysts had expected the figure to remain unchanged at 4.9%.

The drop of two tenths of a point is positive news for the Labor government one week before the presentation of the autumn budget, set for 28 October, the first since Andy Burnham became prime minister last July. However, the alarm remains over the increase in youth unemployment, one of the main reasons for concern for Downing Street, which has placed the fight against high prices at the center of its agenda. Yesterday Burnham, in an article in the Times, spoke of an "economic catastrophe and moral failure" for the country, where around one million young people between 16 and 24 do not work, do not study or follow training courses, and had launched a welfare reform that focuses less on public subsidies and more on internships and technical apprenticeships to facilitate entry into the world of work.