Between June to August 2016 and September to November 2016, the number of people in work was little changed, the number of unemployed people decreased, and the number of people not working and not seeking or available to work (economically inactive) increased.

There were 31.80 million people in work, little changed compared with June to August 2016 but 294,000 more than for a year earlier.

The unemployment rate was 4.8%, down from 5.1% for a year earlier. It has not been lower since July to September 2005. The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labour force (those in work plus those unemployed) that were unemployed.