Unemployment rate over time (2005 Q1 - 2024 Q1)
Last updated: August 2024
Next estimated update: November 2024
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the unemployment rate over time for London, the rest of England, and for Inner and Outer London.
What does it tell us?
The picture now
Outer London’s unemployment rate is 4.9%, which is below the rate in Inner London of 5.3%. Both Inner and Outer London have higher unemployment rates than the rest of England (3.6%).
How this has changed over time
Unemployment peaked following the financial crash, and then steadily declined from 2012 until the beginning of 2020. In Inner London, the unemployment rate more than halved from 2010 to 2020, from 10.7% to 4.5%. It recovered to pre-financial crisis levels in 2014. In Outer London, it declined from its peak of 9.3% in 2012 to 4.9% in 2020, and did not recover its pre-crisis levels until 2015.
Unemployment surged in 2021, likely as a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, although this did not come close to the levels seen during the financial crisis. This appears to have been sharper in London. From 2020 to 2021 the unemployment rate in Inner London rose by 38% (1.7 percentage points) and in Outer London by 22% (1.1ppts) compared to the Rest of England, where it rose by 24% (0.9ppt).
In 2023, unemployment declined to below pre-pandemic levels before rising in 2024. The rise in Inner London was larger than both in Outer London and the rest of England.Throughout the period covered in this indicator, unemployment has remained consistently higher in London than in the rest of England. The gap between London and the rest of England has remained relatively stable over time.
What is unemployment?
The unemployment rate is the percentage of people that are able or willing to work but don’t currently have a job. It only includes those who are looking for a job or are able to start work soon, and doesn’t count those who are of working age and are ‘economically inactive’. A person is ‘economically inactive’ when they aren’t looking for a job or able to start work, for example because they are retired, studying, have caring responsibilities, or are too sick to work.
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