Civometry

Unemployment forecasts: record highs and lows

The extremes of unemployment forecasts as published by OBR, across the 16 periods held here (2009 to 2024). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.

Highest published

8.1%2011

Lowest published

3.8%2022

The full series

Unemployment forecasts: 2009 to 2024LabourCoalitionCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour0%2.5%5%7.5%2010201520202009: 7.6% per cent · published 26 March 20262010: 7.9% per cent · published 26 March 20262011: 8.1% per cent · published 26 March 20262012: 8% per cent · published 26 March 20262013: 7.6% per cent · published 26 March 20262014: 6.2% per cent · published 26 March 20262015: 5.4% per cent · published 26 March 20262016: 4.9% per cent · published 26 March 20262017: 4.4% per cent · published 26 March 20262018: 4.1% per cent · published 26 March 20262019: 3.8% per cent · published 26 March 20262020: 4.6% per cent · published 26 March 20262021: 4.5% per cent · published 26 March 20262022: 3.8% per cent · published 26 March 20262023: 4% per cent · published 26 March 20262024: 4.3% per cent · published 26 March 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

What a record here is, and is not

A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.