LONDON, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Britain's unemployment rate remained at the highest level since early 2021 during the September-November 2025 period as the job market is caught in the struggle between working rights protection and employment cost hikes.
The unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was estimated at 5.1 percent in September to November, unchanged from the estimate for the August-October period, a record-high in more than four years, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Tuesday.
Annual growth in employees' average total earnings, including bonuses, stood at 4.7 percent in the September-November period. In real terms, adjusted for consumer price index (CPI) inflation, earnings grew by 1.1 percent.
The estimated number of payrolled employees fell by 155,000 between November 2024 and November 2025, and decreased by 33,000 between October 2025 and November 2025, the data showed.
"The number of employees on payroll has fallen again, with reductions over the last year concentrated in retail and hospitality, and reflecting ongoing weak hiring activity," Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said, adding that wage growth in the private sector has slowed to its lowest rate in five years.
"The rate of unemployment has held steady at 5.1 percent and the number of payrolled employees has continued to fall, suggesting the labor market is still loosening," Patrick Milnes, head of People and Work Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), commented.
Wage increases, which held steady at 4.7 percent, "provide little relief for businesses who have seen eye-watering growth in employment costs, and know there is still more pain to come," he added, citing 72 percent of firms considering labor costs continue to be their main cost pressure in BCC's most recent survey.
Tuesday's data is evidence of a further weakening labor market, said Alex Hall-Chen, principal policy advisor for employment at the Institute of Directors.
"These figures reflect the cumulative impact of historically low levels of business confidence and the government's employment policies over the past year: increases to employer's National Insurance Contributions, above-inflation increases to the National Living Wage, and the Employment Rights Act have all severely dampened employer demand for labor," Hall-Chen added.
Echoing Hall-Chen's comment, Milnes said the data indicate businesses are still not feeling confident about taking on more staff or expanding their operations. He further emphasized with above inflation rises in the minimum and living wage due in April, and a raft of costs associated with new employment legislation, employers will continue to hold back.
"There is still a lot to do to give employers the confidence to rev the engine on hiring," said Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, adding businesses are concerned by the scale of costs they are facing brought by some government policies.
Sensible action to help firms navigate big changes and manage costs will help to build confidence to invest and hire over time, Carberry said.
Welcoming the government's compromise on additional protections against unfair dismissal, Hall-Chen said more needs to be done to make some labor protection policies more workable and less damaging for employers.
Underneath the headline picture of Britain's sluggish job market, the employment of some key groups have drawn special attention from analysts.
Carberry especially mentioned temporary jobs, which he considered as "a cornerstone of the UK labor market, with a million temporary workers in post on any given day." The government needs to pay close attention to how Statutory Sick Pay and proposed obligations to offer guaranteed hours impact it, he said, "we are far from a booming labor market - new obligations around temporary work risk firms not hiring at all."
Naomi Clayton, chief executive at the Institute for Employment Studies, argued increases in unemployment have been largely driven by young people who have been affected by the slowdown in hiring, underlining "the youth unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 10 years including the pandemic."
She suggested the government work with employers to create more job and training opportunities for young people, encourage hiring and increase support for accessing opportunities.
Focusing on the retail and hospitality industry, Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, pointed to the "further worrying falls in payroll employment", which was down 142,000 in a year. This decline contrasts with rises of 52,000 in health and social care and public administration.
Looking ahead, slow growth and global instability increase the risks of rising worklessness, increasing the importance of the government focusing on growth, he noted. ■
