Official figures released on 16 September 2026 showed Britain's jobs market weakening further, with company payrolls falling by 26,000 last month and by 145,000 over the past year, while job vacancies dropped to a five-year low. The contrast between a struggling private sector and an expanding public sector has fuelled criticism of the Labour government's economic record, with the Office for National Statistics linking the strain to employer national insurance and minimum wage increases introduced under Chancellor John Healey.

Private sector wage growth stood at just 2.9 per cent, barely outpacing inflation, whereas public sector pay rose 6.6 per cent annually as the state added 11,000 jobs, taking public employment to 6.21 million. Unemployment held at 4.9 per cent, up 0.2 percentage points over the year, while joblessness among 18-24 year-olds jumped from 11.9 to 14.4 per cent, some 122,000 more young people out of work. The figures emerged amid fears that an escalating Middle East crisis could push energy costs and inflation higher, complicating the Bank of England's interest rate decisions and the government's upcoming Budget.