The best and worst places to find a job in the UK right now
Key Points
- London has the UK's highest unemployment rate at 6.5% and lost 57,000 jobs in the quarter to May 2026
- The East of England has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.9%
- The North West added 52,000 jobs, the largest quarterly gain of any region
- The South East has the highest employment rate (78.2%), the North East the lowest (71.5%)
- Unemployment fell in England, rose in Scotland, and held flat in Wales and Northern Ireland
London recorded the highest unemployment rate in the UK at 6.5% in the quarter to May 2026, while the East of England posted the lowest at 3.9%.
The regional breakdown in the CBI’s July Labour Market Update, based on ONS data, shows a jobs market pulling in different directions across the country. Employment rose in all but two English regions over the quarter – and London’s fall dwarfed everywhere else.
Employment in the capital fell by 57,000 in the three months to May 2026, by far the largest drop of any UK region. The East of England was the only other English region to record a fall, and at just 1,000 jobs it was marginal by comparison.
London’s 6.5% unemployment rate puts it well above the national figure of 4.9%. The capital did record the UK’s largest quarterly fall in unemployment at 34,000, followed by the West Midlands at 17,000 – but even that improvement left it bottom of the regional table.
The North West leads the gains
The North West added 52,000 jobs over the quarter, the largest increase of any region, followed by the South East with 26,000. The North West also recorded England’s biggest annual employment gain at 118,000.
Across the nations, employment rose in England by 81,000, in Wales by 36,000, in Scotland by 19,000 and in Northern Ireland by 12,000. Unemployment told a more mixed story: it fell in England by 34,000, rose in Scotland by 15,000, and stayed broadly flat in Wales and Northern Ireland.
The South East had the highest employment rate in the country at 78.2%, while the North East had the lowest at 71.5%.
Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the largest quarterly rise in unemployment at 10,000, and the East of England posted the biggest annual fall in England at 35,000 – cementing its position as the tightest jobs market in the country.
The ONS notes that ongoing sampling issues with its Labour Force Survey mean regional figures should be interpreted with caution.
