Unemployment | The Guardian (original) (raw)

April 2026

UK unemployment shows surprise fall to 4.9% as pay growth drops to lowest in five years

Bank of England expected to keep interest rates on hold as Iran war casts shadow over labour market

double quotation markAI is destroying jobs – and the energy crisis could make that much worse

Larry Elliott
Every wave of new tech has come with a doomsday scenario. But governments just aren’t planning a human response on the scale required, says Guardian columnist Larry Elliott

• Against the tide
  Surrounded by windfarms but out of work: the reality of the green jobs boom on England’s east coast

  • Young people ‘more likely to leave for health reasons when in low-paid, insecure jobs’

  • A ‘dress rehearsal’ for life: inside the Manchester project helping homeless men rebuild

March 2026

There must be more support for young people who are seeking jobs

People aged under 25: are you still looking for a job after a year of unemployment?

double quotation markYoung people want to work: now there may be jobs for them

Polly Toynbee

Labour MPs have no reason to oppose new welfare reforms, says minister

• Sharp rise in young Britons saying ill health is reason they are jobless, study finds

• Give mayors more powers to tackle youth unemployment crisis, says Alan Milburn

• UK companies struggling to hire young people amid cost pressures, MPs told

• The Guardian view on gen Z: young men hold startling views about women – inequality may be to blame

• Britain’s job market ‘floundering’ as companies remain cautious about hiring

• The Guardian view on rising youth unemployment: regional leaders as well as ministers must take action

• Unemployment set to hit 5.3% this year amid ‘worrying’ rise in young jobless

• double quotation markWhy the fightback against Reform must involve the middle-aged, fed-up workers of Britain

Gaby Hinsliff

February 2026

A mountain to climb in today’s job market

Letters: Readers respond to articles by Gaby Hinsliff and Sumaiya Motara on the availability of first jobs, and the hoops applicants are made to jump through

UK parents fear young will be worse off for first time in a century, ex-minister warns

Alan Milburn says people feel ‘social contract is being broken’ as number of Neets climbs to 957,000

Young bearing the brunt of UK tax and wage changes, says BoE economist

Huw Pill warns combined effect of national insurance and minimum wage rises have ‘acute’ effect on youth employment

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