UK unemployment falls to 4.7% with 13,000 payrolled employees added
Good news for job seekers: the U.K.'s unemployment rate dropped to 4.7% for June through August 2026, surprising experts who thought it would go up instead.
The Office for National Statistics shared this update just before the big budget reveal later this month.
Plus, there were 13,000 more payrolled employees than last month, bringing the total to 30.3 million.
UK vacancies 691,000 wages outpace inflation
But it's not all smooth sailing: job vacancies fell by 21,000 to their lowest since the pandemic, now at 691,000.
Wages are a mixed bag: overall pay growth (with bonuses) slipped a bit to 3.7%, but regular pay (no bonuses) edged up slightly and both are still outpacing inflation at 3.1%.
This has the Bank of England watching closely since high wage growth can push prices up in the future.