UK unemployment by region, 2026: London 7.4%, Northern Ireland 2.2%

The data, in detail

In December 2025 to February 2026, UK regional unemployment ranged from 7.4% in London (highest) to 2.2% in Northern Ireland (lowest). The North East at 6.1% was the next-highest UK region behind London, and London's position as the highest-unemployment UK region is itself relatively new — historically the North East has held that position. The shift reflects a combination of London's exposure to white-collar layoffs in finance, professional services and tech, and stronger labour market conditions in the regions that have benefited from levelling-up, civil service relocations, and the public investment surge.

Nomis labour market profiles, which break the data down further than the headline ONS release, corroborate the picture: North East economic activity (75.9%) is below the UK average (79.0%); male unemployment in the North East (7.7%) is meaningfully higher than female unemployment in the same region (4.3%), reflecting the post-industrial sectoral mix.

PwC's 10 UK economic predictions for 2026 forecast London house prices to grow less than 1% in 2026 — the lowest of any UK region — while Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North East will lead. That is consistent with the labour market picture: where demand is strongest and supply has lagged, both jobs and housing are tightening more outside the capital than inside it.

Londoners' own perception of the job market is the most pessimistic of any UK region. YouGov's 11 May 2026 wave found 33% of London adults say it is 'very difficult' to find work in Britain right now, versus 23% across all adults. London also has the highest 'difficult' total of any region (71% combining 'fairly' and 'very'), reinforcing what the 7.4% ONS regional unemployment rate already shows: the capital's labour market is no longer the easy default it was for white-collar professionals through the 2010s.

What's shaping this picture

The Places for Growth programme is moving roughly 22,000 Civil Service roles out of London by 2030. Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham and other regional hubs are picking up policy, digital, commercial and operational posts that were previously London-only. Competition for these roles is meaningfully lower than for London equivalents and the cost-of-living gap is large.

Public investment is rising by a cumulative £13 billion in 2026-27 (PwC, October 2025) — the biggest two-year increase since the Global Financial Crisis. That spending will land disproportionately in the regions: infrastructure, housing, net-zero retrofit, and skills hubs. Construction trades and project-management hiring in the regions will run ahead of the UK average for at least the next two years.

Northern Ireland's 2.2% unemployment rate is the lowest in the UK but should be read alongside its 71.2% employment rate (below the UK average of 75.0%) — a sizeable share of working-age NI adults are economically inactive rather than employed. The headline rate flatters relative to England in the same way the US unemployment headline flattered for many years.

If you're applying right now

• If you are mobile, weight your search outside the South East. The combination of regional unemployment, regional house price moderation, and the public investment surge means the marginal value of a successful application is higher in (for example) Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and the North East than in London.
• For Civil Service applicants, regional hubs are quietly the best opportunity in the system right now. Vacancies are real, competition is lower than London equivalents, and the Places for Growth commitments mean the trajectory is funded for at least the rest of the decade.
• Construction trades and project-management roles in any region with a confirmed major infrastructure pipeline (HS2 corridor, energy projects, housing zones) are in a structural skills shortage. Day rates have risen materially for candidates with current CSCS / ECS / NICEIC accreditations.
• If you are London-based and not mobile, lean into the sectors where London still leads despite the headline unemployment: tech (especially AI-augmented senior engineering), legal, advertising / media, and specialist healthcare. The headline rate masks a barbell — junior layoffs are heavy, senior roles in the head-office sectors remain in active demand.