Closing Ranks (UK)

In 1992 the share of working-age people with a job was 12.0 points higher in the UK's best region than in its worst. In 2026 the gap was 7.2 points, the narrowest in 35 years by a whisker: all 12 regions and nations climbed, the bottom ones fastest. Yet the same three regions still hold the top three places. Employment in every UK region, 1992 to 2026, from the Office for National Statistics.

The ladderEmployment rate, people aged 16 to 64, %April to June each year · seasonally adjusted

2026

7.2points, top to bottom

75.1%UK rate

Each triangle is a region or nation, set at the share of its people aged 16 to 64 who had a job; the dashed one is the UK. The top region is brown, the bottom one magenta. The sheet index on the right is a schematic of the 12 areas, not a map to scale; its tints run from low (green) to high (brown). Survey estimates: differences of a few tenths of a point are within sampling error.

The gap between the top and bottom regions is 7.2 points, the narrowest in 35 years, by a whisker

Take the share of people aged 16 to 64 who have a job, region by region. In April to June 1992 the South East led at 73.8% and Northern Ireland trailed at 61.8%: a gap of 12.0 percentage points. By 2000 it had widened to 15.0 points, the widest in the series.

In April to June 2026 the East of England led at 78.3% and the North East trailed at 71.1%. That is a gap of 7.2 points, the narrowest of the 35 years (2023 came next, at 7.5) and 40% smaller than in 1992. Both ends of the gap are survey estimates, and a 0.3-point lead is small for a sample of one region, so treat 2026 and 2023 as roughly tied. Across the UK the rate rose from 69.1% to 75.1%, and the number of people aged 16 to 64 in work from 25.1 million to 32.7 million.

Top, bottom and the UKEmployment rate, people aged 16 to 64, %April to June · 1992–2026

The shaded band runs from the highest region to the lowest each year, whichever region that was. UK: our sum of the four nations' figures.

All 12 regions climbed. Northern Ireland gained the most: 10.2 points

Every one of the 12 regions and nations has a larger share of its working-age people in work than in 1992. Northern Ireland rose from 61.8% to 72.0%. London gained 7.8 points, Wales 7.6 and the North East 7.5. The smallest rise was the East Midlands', 4.2 points.

The six regions that started lowest gained 7.6 points on average; the six that started highest gained 4.9. That is how the gap closed: the bottom climbed faster than the top, and no region went down.

From 1992 to 2026Employment rate, people aged 16 to 64, %April to June

Sorted by 2026. Change in percentage points on the right.

The same three regions have held the top three places for all 35 years

The order at the top has not changed in a generation. In every April to June from 1992 to 2026, the top three places went to the East of England, the South East and the South West, swapping among themselves. The closest call was 2006, when the East of England held third place ahead of the East Midlands by 0.02 points. In 1992 the South East was first. In 2026 the East of England was, at 78.3%, a whisker ahead of the South East's 78.2% and the South West's 78.1%: differences well within the survey's margin of error.

Lower down, the ladder moved more. The North West rose from 8th to 5th. Yorkshire and The Humber fell from 5th to 8th, and the West Midlands from 7th to 9th. Pick a region to follow it.

Places on the ladderRank of 12 by employment rate, people aged 16 to 64April to June · 1992–2026

1 = highest employment rate. Where two regions are a few tenths of a point apart, their order can flip from year to year on sampling error alone.

In 2007 London ranked last of 12. In 2026 it ranked 7th

In 1992 London ranked 9th of the 12 regions and nations, at 66.2%. In April to June 2007 it ranked 12th of 12, at 68.7%, the only year it came last.

Since then it has climbed: 5th at its best, in 2017, 2020 and 2024, and 7th in 2026, at 73.9%. In 1992 London's rate was 2.9 points below the UK's; in 2026, 1.2 points below.

London and the UKEmployment rate, people aged 16 to 64, %April to June · 1992–2026

London is counted where people live, not where they work: commuters from the South East and East of England count in their home region.

Closing Ranks (UK)

The gap between the top and bottom regions is 7.2 points, the narrowest in 35 years, by a whisker

All 12 regions climbed. Northern Ireland gained the most: 10.2 points

The same three regions have held the top three places for all 35 years

In 2007 London ranked last of 12. In 2026 it ranked 7th

In 33 of 35 years, last place went to Northern Ireland or the North East

Closing Ranks. (UK)

The gap between the top and bottom regions is 7.2 points, the narrowest in 35 years, by a whisker

All 12 regions climbed. Northern Ireland gained the most: 10.2 points

The same three regions have held the top three places for all 35 years

In 2007 London ranked last of 12. In 2026 it ranked 7th

Closing Ranks (UK)