Civometry

Unemployment rate: record highs and lows

The extremes of unemployment rate as published by ONS, across the 222 periods held here (1971 Q1 to 2026 Q2). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.

Highest published

11.9%1984 Q2

Lowest published

3.4%1973 Q4

The full series

Unemployment rate: 1971 Q1 to 2026 Q2ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabourLabourLabourCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour0%5%10%198019902000201020201971 Q1: 3.8% percent · published 17 August 20261971 Q2: 4.1% percent · published 17 August 20261971 Q3: 4.2% percent · published 17 August 20261971 Q4: 4.4% percent · published 17 August 20261972 Q1: 4.5% percent · published 17 August 20261972 Q2: 4.4% percent · published 17 August 20261972 Q3: 4.3% percent · published 17 August 20261972 Q4: 4.2% percent · published 17 August 20261973 Q1: 3.9% percent · published 17 August 20261973 Q2: 3.7% percent · published 17 August 20261973 Q3: 3.6% percent · published 17 August 20261973 Q4: 3.4% percent · published 17 August 20261974 Q1: 3.6% percent · published 17 August 20261974 Q2: 3.6% percent · published 17 August 20261974 Q3: 3.7% percent · published 17 August 20261974 Q4: 3.7% percent · published 17 August 20261975 Q1: 4% percent · published 17 August 20261975 Q2: 4.3% percent · published 17 August 20261975 Q3: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20261975 Q4: 5% percent · published 17 August 20261976 Q1: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20261976 Q2: 5.4% percent · published 17 August 20261976 Q3: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20261976 Q4: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20261977 Q1: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20261977 Q2: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20261977 Q3: 5.7% percent · published 17 August 20261977 Q4: 5.7% percent · published 17 August 20261978 Q1: 5.6% percent · published 17 August 20261978 Q2: 5.6% percent · published 17 August 20261978 Q3: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20261978 Q4: 5.4% percent · published 17 August 20261979 Q1: 5.4% percent · published 17 August 20261979 Q2: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20261979 Q3: 5.4% percent · published 17 August 20261979 Q4: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20261980 Q1: 5.8% percent · published 17 August 20261980 Q2: 6.3% percent · published 17 August 20261980 Q3: 7.1% percent · published 17 August 20261980 Q4: 8% percent · published 17 August 20261981 Q1: 8.9% percent · published 17 August 20261981 Q2: 9.6% percent · published 17 August 20261981 Q3: 9.9% percent · published 17 August 20261981 Q4: 10.2% percent · published 17 August 20261982 Q1: 10.4% percent · published 17 August 20261982 Q2: 10.6% percent · published 17 August 20261982 Q3: 10.8% percent · published 17 August 20261982 Q4: 11.1% percent · published 17 August 20261983 Q1: 11.3% percent · published 17 August 20261983 Q2: 11.4% percent · published 17 August 20261983 Q3: 11.5% percent · published 17 August 20261983 Q4: 11.7% percent · published 17 August 20261984 Q1: 11.8% percent · published 17 August 20261984 Q2: 11.9% percent · published 17 August 20261984 Q3: 11.7% percent · published 17 August 20261984 Q4: 11.6% percent · published 17 August 20261985 Q1: 11.5% percent · published 17 August 20261985 Q2: 11.4% percent · published 17 August 20261985 Q3: 11.3% percent · published 17 August 20261985 Q4: 11.3% percent · published 17 August 20261986 Q1: 11.3% percent · published 17 August 20261986 Q2: 11.3% percent · published 17 August 20261986 Q3: 11.4% percent · published 17 August 20261986 Q4: 11.3% percent · published 17 August 20261987 Q1: 11.1% percent · published 17 August 20261987 Q2: 10.7% percent · published 17 August 20261987 Q3: 10.2% percent · published 17 August 20261987 Q4: 9.7% percent · published 17 August 20261988 Q1: 9.2% percent · published 17 August 20261988 Q2: 8.7% percent · published 17 August 20261988 Q3: 8.4% percent · published 17 August 20261988 Q4: 8% percent · published 17 August 20261989 Q1: 7.6% percent · published 17 August 20261989 Q2: 7.2% percent · published 17 August 20261989 Q3: 7.1% percent · published 17 August 20261989 Q4: 7% percent · published 17 August 20261990 Q1: 6.9% percent · published 17 August 20261990 Q2: 6.9% percent · published 17 August 20261990 Q3: 7.1% percent · published 17 August 20261990 Q4: 7.5% percent · published 17 August 20261991 Q1: 8% percent · published 17 August 20261991 Q2: 8.7% percent · published 17 August 20261991 Q3: 9.2% percent · published 17 August 20261991 Q4: 9.5% percent · published 17 August 20261992 Q1: 9.7% percent · published 17 August 20261992 Q2: 9.8% percent · published 17 August 20261992 Q3: 9.9% percent · published 17 August 20261992 Q4: 10.4% percent · published 17 August 20261993 Q1: 10.6% percent · published 17 August 20261993 Q2: 10.4% percent · published 17 August 20261993 Q3: 10.2% percent · published 17 August 20261993 Q4: 10.3% percent · published 17 August 20261994 Q1: 9.9% percent · published 17 August 20261994 Q2: 9.7% percent · published 17 August 20261994 Q3: 9.4% percent · published 17 August 20261994 Q4: 9% percent · published 17 August 20261995 Q1: 8.9% percent · published 17 August 20261995 Q2: 8.7% percent · published 17 August 20261995 Q3: 8.6% percent · published 17 August 20261995 Q4: 8.3% percent · published 17 August 20261996 Q1: 8.2% percent · published 17 August 20261996 Q2: 8.3% percent · published 17 August 20261996 Q3: 8.1% percent · published 17 August 20261996 Q4: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20261997 Q1: 7.3% percent · published 17 August 20261997 Q2: 7.2% percent · published 17 August 20261997 Q3: 6.8% percent · published 17 August 20261997 Q4: 6.5% percent · published 17 August 20261998 Q1: 6.4% percent · published 17 August 20261998 Q2: 6.3% percent · published 17 August 20261998 Q3: 6.2% percent · published 17 August 20261998 Q4: 6.1% percent · published 17 August 20261999 Q1: 6.2% percent · published 17 August 20261999 Q2: 6% percent · published 17 August 20261999 Q3: 5.9% percent · published 17 August 20261999 Q4: 5.8% percent · published 17 August 20262000 Q1: 5.8% percent · published 17 August 20262000 Q2: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20262000 Q3: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20262000 Q4: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262001 Q1: 5.1% percent · published 17 August 20262001 Q2: 5% percent · published 17 August 20262001 Q3: 5.1% percent · published 17 August 20262001 Q4: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262002 Q1: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262002 Q2: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262002 Q3: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20262002 Q4: 5.1% percent · published 17 August 20262003 Q1: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262003 Q2: 4.9% percent · published 17 August 20262003 Q3: 5% percent · published 17 August 20262003 Q4: 4.9% percent · published 17 August 20262004 Q1: 4.8% percent · published 17 August 20262004 Q2: 4.8% percent · published 17 August 20262004 Q3: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262004 Q4: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262005 Q1: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262005 Q2: 4.8% percent · published 17 August 20262005 Q3: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262005 Q4: 5.1% percent · published 17 August 20262006 Q1: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262006 Q2: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20262006 Q3: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20262006 Q4: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20262007 Q1: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20262007 Q2: 5.4% percent · published 17 August 20262007 Q3: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20262007 Q4: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262008 Q1: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262008 Q2: 5.4% percent · published 17 August 20262008 Q3: 5.9% percent · published 17 August 20262008 Q4: 6.4% percent · published 17 August 20262009 Q1: 7.1% percent · published 17 August 20262009 Q2: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262009 Q3: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262009 Q4: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262010 Q1: 8% percent · published 17 August 20262010 Q2: 7.9% percent · published 17 August 20262010 Q3: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262010 Q4: 7.9% percent · published 17 August 20262011 Q1: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262011 Q2: 7.9% percent · published 17 August 20262011 Q3: 8.3% percent · published 17 August 20262011 Q4: 8.4% percent · published 17 August 20262012 Q1: 8.2% percent · published 17 August 20262012 Q2: 8% percent · published 17 August 20262012 Q3: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262012 Q4: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262013 Q1: 7.8% percent · published 17 August 20262013 Q2: 7.7% percent · published 17 August 20262013 Q3: 7.6% percent · published 17 August 20262013 Q4: 7.2% percent · published 17 August 20262014 Q1: 6.7% percent · published 17 August 20262014 Q2: 6.3% percent · published 17 August 20262014 Q3: 6% percent · published 17 August 20262014 Q4: 5.7% percent · published 17 August 20262015 Q1: 5.5% percent · published 17 August 20262015 Q2: 5.6% percent · published 17 August 20262015 Q3: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20262015 Q4: 5.1% percent · published 17 August 20262016 Q1: 5.1% percent · published 17 August 20262016 Q2: 4.9% percent · published 17 August 20262016 Q3: 4.8% percent · published 17 August 20262016 Q4: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262017 Q1: 4.6% percent · published 17 August 20262017 Q2: 4.4% percent · published 17 August 20262017 Q3: 4.3% percent · published 17 August 20262017 Q4: 4.4% percent · published 17 August 20262018 Q1: 4.2% percent · published 17 August 20262018 Q2: 4% percent · published 17 August 20262018 Q3: 4.1% percent · published 17 August 20262018 Q4: 4% percent · published 17 August 20262019 Q1: 3.8% percent · published 17 August 20262019 Q2: 3.9% percent · published 17 August 20262019 Q3: 3.9% percent · published 17 August 20262019 Q4: 3.7% percent · published 17 August 20262020 Q1: 4.1% percent · published 17 August 20262020 Q2: 4.1% percent · published 17 August 20262020 Q3: 5% percent · published 17 August 20262020 Q4: 5.3% percent · published 17 August 20262021 Q1: 4.9% percent · published 17 August 20262021 Q2: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262021 Q3: 4.4% percent · published 17 August 20262021 Q4: 4.2% percent · published 17 August 20262022 Q1: 3.8% percent · published 17 August 20262022 Q2: 3.8% percent · published 17 August 20262022 Q3: 3.7% percent · published 17 August 20262022 Q4: 3.9% percent · published 17 August 20262023 Q1: 4% percent · published 17 August 20262023 Q2: 4.2% percent · published 17 August 20262023 Q3: 4.1% percent · published 17 August 20262023 Q4: 3.9% percent · published 17 August 20262024 Q1: 4.3% percent · published 17 August 20262024 Q2: 4.2% percent · published 17 August 20262024 Q3: 4.3% percent · published 17 August 20262024 Q4: 4.4% percent · published 17 August 20262025 Q1: 4.6% percent · published 17 August 20262025 Q2: 4.7% percent · published 17 August 20262025 Q3: 5% percent · published 17 August 20262025 Q4: 5.2% percent · published 17 August 20262026 Q1: 5% percent · published 17 August 20262026 Q2: 4.9% percent · published 17 August 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover, tap or use arrow keys to read a value; tap again to unpin
The chart as a table
PeriodUnemployment rate
1971 Q13.8%
1971 Q24.1%
1971 Q34.2%
1971 Q44.4%
1972 Q14.5%
1972 Q24.4%
1972 Q34.3%
1972 Q44.2%
1973 Q13.9%
1973 Q23.7%
1973 Q33.6%
1973 Q43.4%
1974 Q13.6%
1974 Q23.6%
1974 Q33.7%
1974 Q43.7%
1975 Q14%
1975 Q24.3%
1975 Q34.7%
1975 Q45%
1976 Q15.3%
1976 Q25.4%
1976 Q35.5%
1976 Q45.5%
1977 Q15.5%
1977 Q25.5%
1977 Q35.7%
1977 Q45.7%
1978 Q15.6%
1978 Q25.6%
1978 Q35.5%
1978 Q45.4%
1979 Q15.4%
1979 Q25.3%
1979 Q35.4%
1979 Q45.5%
1980 Q15.8%
1980 Q26.3%
1980 Q37.1%
1980 Q48%
1981 Q18.9%
1981 Q29.6%
1981 Q39.9%
1981 Q410.2%
1982 Q110.4%
1982 Q210.6%
1982 Q310.8%
1982 Q411.1%
1983 Q111.3%
1983 Q211.4%
1983 Q311.5%
1983 Q411.7%
1984 Q111.8%
1984 Q211.9%
1984 Q311.7%
1984 Q411.6%
1985 Q111.5%
1985 Q211.4%
1985 Q311.3%
1985 Q411.3%
1986 Q111.3%
1986 Q211.3%
1986 Q311.4%
1986 Q411.3%
1987 Q111.1%
1987 Q210.7%
1987 Q310.2%
1987 Q49.7%
1988 Q19.2%
1988 Q28.7%
1988 Q38.4%
1988 Q48%
1989 Q17.6%
1989 Q27.2%
1989 Q37.1%
1989 Q47%
1990 Q16.9%
1990 Q26.9%
1990 Q37.1%
1990 Q47.5%
1991 Q18%
1991 Q28.7%
1991 Q39.2%
1991 Q49.5%
1992 Q19.7%
1992 Q29.8%
1992 Q39.9%
1992 Q410.4%
1993 Q110.6%
1993 Q210.4%
1993 Q310.2%
1993 Q410.3%
1994 Q19.9%
1994 Q29.7%
1994 Q39.4%
1994 Q49%
1995 Q18.9%
1995 Q28.7%
1995 Q38.6%
1995 Q48.3%
1996 Q18.2%
1996 Q28.3%
1996 Q38.1%
1996 Q47.8%
1997 Q17.3%
1997 Q27.2%
1997 Q36.8%
1997 Q46.5%
1998 Q16.4%
1998 Q26.3%
1998 Q36.2%
1998 Q46.1%
1999 Q16.2%
1999 Q26%
1999 Q35.9%
1999 Q45.8%
2000 Q15.8%
2000 Q25.5%
2000 Q35.3%
2000 Q45.2%
2001 Q15.1%
2001 Q25%
2001 Q35.1%
2001 Q45.2%
2002 Q15.2%
2002 Q25.2%
2002 Q35.3%
2002 Q45.1%
2003 Q15.2%
2003 Q24.9%
2003 Q35%
2003 Q44.9%
2004 Q14.8%
2004 Q24.8%
2004 Q34.7%
2004 Q44.7%
2005 Q14.7%
2005 Q24.8%
2005 Q34.7%
2005 Q45.1%
2006 Q15.2%
2006 Q25.5%
2006 Q35.5%
2006 Q45.5%
2007 Q15.5%
2007 Q25.4%
2007 Q35.3%
2007 Q45.2%
2008 Q15.2%
2008 Q25.4%
2008 Q35.9%
2008 Q46.4%
2009 Q17.1%
2009 Q27.8%
2009 Q37.8%
2009 Q47.8%
2010 Q18%
2010 Q27.9%
2010 Q37.8%
2010 Q47.9%
2011 Q17.8%
2011 Q27.9%
2011 Q38.3%
2011 Q48.4%
2012 Q18.2%
2012 Q28%
2012 Q37.8%
2012 Q47.8%
2013 Q17.8%
2013 Q27.7%
2013 Q37.6%
2013 Q47.2%
2014 Q16.7%
2014 Q26.3%
2014 Q36%
2014 Q45.7%
2015 Q15.5%
2015 Q25.6%
2015 Q35.3%
2015 Q45.1%
2016 Q15.1%
2016 Q24.9%
2016 Q34.8%
2016 Q44.7%
2017 Q14.6%
2017 Q24.4%
2017 Q34.3%
2017 Q44.4%
2018 Q14.2%
2018 Q24%
2018 Q34.1%
2018 Q44%
2019 Q13.8%
2019 Q23.9%
2019 Q33.9%
2019 Q43.7%
2020 Q14.1%
2020 Q24.1%
2020 Q35%
2020 Q45.3%
2021 Q14.9%
2021 Q24.7%
2021 Q34.4%
2021 Q44.2%
2022 Q13.8%
2022 Q23.8%
2022 Q33.7%
2022 Q43.9%
2023 Q14%
2023 Q24.2%
2023 Q34.1%
2023 Q43.9%
2024 Q14.3%
2024 Q24.2%
2024 Q34.3%
2024 Q44.4%
2025 Q14.6%
2025 Q24.7%
2025 Q35%
2025 Q45.2%
2026 Q15%
2026 Q24.9%

What a record here is, and is not

A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.