Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect to trends in unemployment since July 2024.

Since November 2024, employment is up by over 454,000, youth employment by 126,000, and the ethnic minority employment rate has risen to 69.9%. The UK’s employment rate has remained stable at 75% over the past year and we’ve seen other positive labour market trends. While unemployment has risen slightly to 5.2%, this is still below the average unemployment rate seen under the last government. Crucially, part of the rise in unemployment is driven by the fall in inactivity as more people are actively seeking work.