The media reported a record unemployment rate in the UK for almost five years.

The unemployment rate in the UK for the three months from October to December 2025 was 5.2%, which is the highest since January 2021. This was reported on February 17 by The Guardian newspaper with reference to the National Statistical Office (ONS).

"The unemployment rate in the UK has been steadily rising since 2022, and businesses complain that the tax increases introduced by British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in the last two budgets have worsened this situation," the material says.

A survey of financial directors conducted by the Bank of England showed that companies expect to increase their headcount this year for the first time in five months.

Nevertheless, the bank predicts that the unemployment rate will rise to 5.3% this year, and wage growth will slow from 3.4% last year to 3.25%.

The Tagesspiegel newspaper reported on January 30 that at the beginning of 2026, the number of unemployed in Germany exceeded 3 million people, which is 177 thousand more than at the end of 2025. The unemployment rate rose to 6.6%, which is the highest in the last 12 years.

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