The UK unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to August 2026, defying market expectations that it would remain unchanged at 4.9% for the fifth consecutive period. This marked the lowest reading since the three months to July 2025, as the number of unemployed people declined by 47 thousand from the previous quarter and by 26 thousand year-on-year to 1.712 million. Meanwhile, total employment rose by 102 thousand from the previous period and by 356 thousand from a year earlier to 34.577 million, while the employment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points both quarterly and annually to 75.3%. The number of economically inactive people aged 16 to 64 fell by 16 thousand quarter-on-quarter and by 22 thousand year-on-year to 9.091 million, while the inactivity rate edged down by 0.1 percentage point from the previous quarter and by 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 20.9%.