Stately

ONS · Labour market overview, UK (LMS time series)

People in employment

2026 Q2 Final

34,469,000people

People in employment was 34,469,000 people in 2026 Q2, up 0.7% (253,000) from 34,216,000 in 2025 Q2.

▲ 0.7% · +253,000 against 2025 Q2 (same quarter previous year)

  1. ONS estimate
  2. 2026 Q2
  3. published 17 August 2026
  4. MGRZ
  5. row “Number of People in Employment (aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted):000s”
  6. column “2026 Q2”
  7. cell value 34469

2026 Q2 is the highest figure in the published series: 34,469,000. Rule: highest of the 222 periods published here (1971 Q1 to 2026 Q2).

1971 Q1 to 2026 Q2

People in employment: 1971 Q1 to 2026 Q2ConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabourLabourLabourLabourCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour010m20m30m198019902000201020201971 Q1: 24,613,000 people · published 17 August 20261971 Q2: 24,556,000 people · published 17 August 20261971 Q3: 24,464,000 people · published 17 August 20261971 Q4: 24,395,000 people · published 17 August 20261972 Q1: 24,501,000 people · published 17 August 20261972 Q2: 24,542,000 people · published 17 August 20261972 Q3: 24,585,000 people · published 17 August 20261972 Q4: 24,689,000 people · published 17 August 20261973 Q1: 24,903,000 people · published 17 August 20261973 Q2: 24,986,000 people · published 17 August 20261973 Q3: 24,972,000 people · published 17 August 20261973 Q4: 24,999,000 people · published 17 August 20261974 Q1: 24,984,000 people · published 17 August 20261974 Q2: 25,002,000 people · published 17 August 20261974 Q3: 25,066,000 people · published 17 August 20261974 Q4: 25,065,000 people · published 17 August 20261975 Q1: 24,996,000 people · published 17 August 20261975 Q2: 24,955,000 people · published 17 August 20261975 Q3: 24,918,000 people · published 17 August 20261975 Q4: 24,864,000 people · published 17 August 20261976 Q1: 24,809,000 people · published 17 August 20261976 Q2: 24,779,000 people · published 17 August 20261976 Q3: 24,768,000 people · published 17 August 20261976 Q4: 24,788,000 people · published 17 August 20261977 Q1: 24,803,000 people · published 17 August 20261977 Q2: 24,802,000 people · published 17 August 20261977 Q3: 24,809,000 people · published 17 August 20261977 Q4: 24,822,000 people · published 17 August 20261978 Q1: 24,862,000 people · published 17 August 20261978 Q2: 24,897,000 people · published 17 August 20261978 Q3: 24,941,000 people · published 17 August 20261978 Q4: 25,059,000 people · published 17 August 20261979 Q1: 25,113,000 people · published 17 August 20261979 Q2: 25,159,000 people · published 17 August 20261979 Q3: 25,229,000 people · published 17 August 20261979 Q4: 25,280,000 people · published 17 August 20261980 Q1: 25,250,000 people · published 17 August 20261980 Q2: 25,190,000 people · published 17 August 20261980 Q3: 25,050,000 people · published 17 August 20261980 Q4: 24,855,000 people · published 17 August 20261981 Q1: 24,661,000 people · published 17 August 20261981 Q2: 24,495,000 people · published 17 August 20261981 Q3: 24,355,000 people · published 17 August 20261981 Q4: 24,209,000 people · published 17 August 20261982 Q1: 24,120,000 people · published 17 August 20261982 Q2: 24,027,000 people · published 17 August 20261982 Q3: 23,901,000 people · published 17 August 20261982 Q4: 23,755,000 people · published 17 August 20261983 Q1: 23,651,000 people · published 17 August 20261983 Q2: 23,647,000 people · published 17 August 20261983 Q3: 23,809,000 people · published 17 August 20261983 Q4: 23,994,000 people · published 17 August 20261984 Q1: 24,125,000 people · published 17 August 20261984 Q2: 24,245,000 people · published 17 August 20261984 Q3: 24,335,000 people · published 17 August 20261984 Q4: 24,435,000 people · published 17 August 20261985 Q1: 24,515,000 people · published 17 August 20261985 Q2: 24,570,000 people · published 17 August 20261985 Q3: 24,625,000 people · published 17 August 20261985 Q4: 24,660,000 people · published 17 August 20261986 Q1: 24,670,000 people · published 17 August 20261986 Q2: 24,695,000 people · published 17 August 20261986 Q3: 24,770,000 people · published 17 August 20261986 Q4: 24,850,000 people · published 17 August 20261987 Q1: 24,925,000 people · published 17 August 20261987 Q2: 25,110,000 people · published 17 August 20261987 Q3: 25,345,000 people · published 17 August 20261987 Q4: 25,575,000 people · published 17 August 20261988 Q1: 25,795,000 people · published 17 August 20261988 Q2: 25,970,000 people · published 17 August 20261988 Q3: 26,160,000 people · published 17 August 20261988 Q4: 26,355,000 people · published 17 August 20261989 Q1: 26,590,000 people · published 17 August 20261989 Q2: 26,730,000 people · published 17 August 20261989 Q3: 26,795,000 people · published 17 August 20261989 Q4: 26,880,000 people · published 17 August 20261990 Q1: 26,900,000 people · published 17 August 20261990 Q2: 26,935,000 people · published 17 August 20261990 Q3: 26,900,000 people · published 17 August 20261990 Q4: 26,750,000 people · published 17 August 20261991 Q1: 26,530,000 people · published 17 August 20261991 Q2: 26,275,000 people · published 17 August 20261991 Q3: 26,025,000 people · published 17 August 20261991 Q4: 25,820,000 people · published 17 August 20261992 Q1: 25,710,000 people · published 17 August 20261992 Q2: 25,605,000 people · published 17 August 20261992 Q3: 25,509,000 people · published 17 August 20261992 Q4: 25,336,000 people · published 17 August 20261993 Q1: 25,282,000 people · published 17 August 20261993 Q2: 25,293,000 people · published 17 August 20261993 Q3: 25,316,000 people · published 17 August 20261993 Q4: 25,320,000 people · published 17 August 20261994 Q1: 25,408,000 people · published 17 August 20261994 Q2: 25,451,000 people · published 17 August 20261994 Q3: 25,559,000 people · published 17 August 20261994 Q4: 25,600,000 people · published 17 August 20261995 Q1: 25,670,000 people · published 17 August 20261995 Q2: 25,770,000 people · published 17 August 20261995 Q3: 25,852,000 people · published 17 August 20261995 Q4: 25,982,000 people · published 17 August 20261996 Q1: 25,970,000 people · published 17 August 20261996 Q2: 26,009,000 people · published 17 August 20261996 Q3: 26,062,000 people · published 17 August 20261996 Q4: 26,198,000 people · published 17 August 20261997 Q1: 26,381,000 people · published 17 August 20261997 Q2: 26,514,000 people · published 17 August 20261997 Q3: 26,572,000 people · published 17 August 20261997 Q4: 26,636,000 people · published 17 August 20261998 Q1: 26,677,000 people · published 17 August 20261998 Q2: 26,714,000 people · published 17 August 20261998 Q3: 26,834,000 people · published 17 August 20261998 Q4: 26,955,000 people · published 17 August 20261999 Q1: 27,036,000 people · published 17 August 20261999 Q2: 27,095,000 people · published 17 August 20261999 Q3: 27,218,000 people · published 17 August 20261999 Q4: 27,322,000 people · published 17 August 20262000 Q1: 27,362,000 people · published 17 August 20262000 Q2: 27,468,000 people · published 17 August 20262000 Q3: 27,555,000 people · published 17 August 20262000 Q4: 27,549,000 people · published 17 August 20262001 Q1: 27,623,000 people · published 17 August 20262001 Q2: 27,707,000 people · published 17 August 20262001 Q3: 27,715,000 people · published 17 August 20262001 Q4: 27,803,000 people · published 17 August 20262002 Q1: 27,797,000 people · published 17 August 20262002 Q2: 27,933,000 people · published 17 August 20262002 Q3: 27,935,000 people · published 17 August 20262002 Q4: 28,110,000 people · published 17 August 20262003 Q1: 28,099,000 people · published 17 August 20262003 Q2: 28,226,000 people · published 17 August 20262003 Q3: 28,256,000 people · published 17 August 20262003 Q4: 28,304,000 people · published 17 August 20262004 Q1: 28,459,000 people · published 17 August 20262004 Q2: 28,470,000 people · published 17 August 20262004 Q3: 28,518,000 people · published 17 August 20262004 Q4: 28,673,000 people · published 17 August 20262005 Q1: 28,789,000 people · published 17 August 20262005 Q2: 28,802,000 people · published 17 August 20262005 Q3: 28,928,000 people · published 17 August 20262005 Q4: 28,880,000 people · published 17 August 20262006 Q1: 29,048,000 people · published 17 August 20262006 Q2: 29,106,000 people · published 17 August 20262006 Q3: 29,183,000 people · published 17 August 20262006 Q4: 29,214,000 people · published 17 August 20262007 Q1: 29,194,000 people · published 17 August 20262007 Q2: 29,322,000 people · published 17 August 20262007 Q3: 29,420,000 people · published 17 August 20262007 Q4: 29,576,000 people · published 17 August 20262008 Q1: 29,684,000 people · published 17 August 20262008 Q2: 29,722,000 people · published 17 August 20262008 Q3: 29,580,000 people · published 17 August 20262008 Q4: 29,528,000 people · published 17 August 20262009 Q1: 29,366,000 people · published 17 August 20262009 Q2: 29,087,000 people · published 17 August 20262009 Q3: 29,069,000 people · published 17 August 20262009 Q4: 29,102,000 people · published 17 August 20262010 Q1: 29,013,000 people · published 17 August 20262010 Q2: 29,192,000 people · published 17 August 20262010 Q3: 29,385,000 people · published 17 August 20262010 Q4: 29,324,000 people · published 17 August 20262011 Q1: 29,441,000 people · published 17 August 20262011 Q2: 29,447,000 people · published 17 August 20262011 Q3: 29,284,000 people · published 17 August 20262011 Q4: 29,352,000 people · published 17 August 20262012 Q1: 29,470,000 people · published 17 August 20262012 Q2: 29,689,000 people · published 17 August 20262012 Q3: 29,788,000 people · published 17 August 20262012 Q4: 29,945,000 people · published 17 August 20262013 Q1: 29,884,000 people · published 17 August 20262013 Q2: 29,990,000 people · published 17 August 20262013 Q3: 30,163,000 people · published 17 August 20262013 Q4: 30,350,000 people · published 17 August 20262014 Q1: 30,595,000 people · published 17 August 20262014 Q2: 30,771,000 people · published 17 August 20262014 Q3: 30,899,000 people · published 17 August 20262014 Q4: 31,008,000 people · published 17 August 20262015 Q1: 31,218,000 people · published 17 August 20262015 Q2: 31,170,000 people · published 17 August 20262015 Q3: 31,393,000 people · published 17 August 20262015 Q4: 31,602,000 people · published 17 August 20262016 Q1: 31,636,000 people · published 17 August 20262016 Q2: 31,813,000 people · published 17 August 20262016 Q3: 31,878,000 people · published 17 August 20262016 Q4: 31,914,000 people · published 17 August 20262017 Q1: 32,017,000 people · published 17 August 20262017 Q2: 32,138,000 people · published 17 August 20262017 Q3: 32,134,000 people · published 17 August 20262017 Q4: 32,222,000 people · published 17 August 20262018 Q1: 32,410,000 people · published 17 August 20262018 Q2: 32,451,000 people · published 17 August 20262018 Q3: 32,497,000 people · published 17 August 20262018 Q4: 32,669,000 people · published 17 August 20262019 Q1: 32,776,000 people · published 17 August 20262019 Q2: 32,963,000 people · published 17 August 20262019 Q3: 32,896,000 people · published 17 August 20262019 Q4: 33,057,000 people · published 17 August 20262020 Q1: 32,981,000 people · published 17 August 20262020 Q2: 32,628,000 people · published 17 August 20262020 Q3: 32,361,000 people · published 17 August 20262020 Q4: 32,270,000 people · published 17 August 20262021 Q1: 32,321,000 people · published 17 August 20262021 Q2: 32,443,000 people · published 17 August 20262021 Q3: 32,727,000 people · published 17 August 20262021 Q4: 32,735,000 people · published 17 August 20262022 Q1: 32,799,000 people · published 17 August 20262022 Q2: 32,992,000 people · published 17 August 20262022 Q3: 32,928,000 people · published 17 August 20262022 Q4: 33,121,000 people · published 17 August 20262023 Q1: 33,335,000 people · published 17 August 20262023 Q2: 33,335,000 people · published 17 August 20262023 Q3: 33,357,000 people · published 17 August 20262023 Q4: 33,385,000 people · published 17 August 20262024 Q1: 33,347,000 people · published 17 August 20262024 Q2: 33,468,000 people · published 17 August 20262024 Q3: 33,784,000 people · published 17 August 20262024 Q4: 33,871,000 people · published 17 August 20262025 Q1: 33,994,000 people · published 17 August 20262025 Q2: 34,216,000 people · published 17 August 20262025 Q3: 34,198,000 people · published 17 August 20262025 Q4: 34,253,000 people · published 17 August 20262026 Q1: 34,386,000 people · published 17 August 20262026 Q2: 34,469,000 people · published 17 August 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

What this measures

The estimated number of people aged 16 and over in the UK in employment, from the Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted.

What this doesn’t measure

How many hours those people work, or whether a person holding two jobs is counted once.

Important caveat

Labour Force Survey estimates come from a sample of households, so every figure has a margin of error and small changes between quarters may not be real. Response rates fell sharply after 2020; ONS suspended the survey's accredited official statistics status in 2024 and reintroduced it with reweighted estimates, so figures across that period are not a clean series. Civometry stores the calendar-quarter estimates because the monthly figures ONS publishes for these series are three-month rolling averages named after their final month.

Revision history

No period of this series has been revised since it was first ingested here. Revisions are recorded automatically when a later release publishes a different figure for the same period.

Source

Publisher
ONS
Publication
Labour market overview, UK (LMS time series)
Release
Labour market overview, UK: August 2026, published 17 August 2026
Source file
ons_labour_market.json
File SHA-256
9995a0293e3629add1cf76516e37f3e60f0be365343415867ab5fa687950e0fc
Retrieved
3 September 2026
Sheet
LMS
Table
MGRZ
Row
Number of People in Employment (aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted):000s
Column
2026 Q2
Cell value
34469 (× 1,000 = 34,469,000 people)
Geography
United Kingdom
Unit
people
API
/api/metrics/employment_level · /series · /vintages

Government periods

Change during each government, from the level inherited to the last complete period before it left office. Describes the period; does not attribute cause.

Labour 2024–33,468,0002024 Q234,469,0002026 Q2↑ 3.0%
Conservative 2019–202432,896,0002019 Q333,468,0002024 Q2↑ 1.7%
Conservative 2017–201932,017,0002017 Q132,896,0002019 Q3↑ 2.7%
Conservative 2015–201731,218,0002015 Q132,017,0002017 Q1↑ 2.6%
Coalition 2010–201529,013,0002010 Q131,218,0002015 Q1↑ 7.6%
Labour 2005–201028,789,0002005 Q129,013,0002010 Q1↑ 0.8%
Labour 2001–200527,623,0002001 Q128,789,0002005 Q1↑ 4.2%
Labour 1997–200126,381,0001997 Q127,623,0002001 Q1↑ 4.7%
Conservative 1992–199725,710,0001992 Q126,381,0001997 Q1↑ 2.6%
Conservative 1987–199224,925,0001987 Q125,710,0001992 Q1↑ 3.1%
Conservative 1983–198723,651,0001983 Q124,925,0001987 Q1↑ 5.4%
Conservative 1979–198325,113,0001979 Q123,651,0001983 Q1↓ 5.8%

Full comparison with chart

Release
Labour market overview, UK: August 2026 · publication page
Last updated
17 August 2026
Next release expected
Not yet announced (estimated from the usual cadence)