Unemployment rate by London borough (2024 Q4 and 2025 Q4)
Last updated: July 2026
Next update: September 2026
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the unemployment rate for people aged 16+ in each London borough. Someone is classed as ‘unemployed’ if they are not working, but actively looking for a job.
Where is unemployment highest in London?
The unemployment rate varies significantly across London boroughs. Barking and Dagenham has the highest rate at 9.3% followed by Newham at 8%, Brent at 7.3%, and Redbridge at 7.2%.
The vast majority of London boroughs (30) have higher unemployment rates than the average for the rest of England.
The London boroughs with the lowest unemployment rates are in Inner London or South West London: Westminster (4%), Wandsworth (4.2%), Kingston upon Thames (4.7%) and Camden (4.7%).
Unemployment going up in a majority of boroughs
Unemployment has increased in all but five London boroughs in the last year.
In some boroughs it has jumped significantly. In Richmond upon Thames, the unemployment rate more than doubled, from 2.9% - then the lowest in London - to 6.2%.
In Barking and Dagenham, it rose from 6.4% to 9.3% - the highest in London, and more than double the England average.
It fell in only five boroughs, almost all of them in central London: Wandsworth, Westminster, Camden, Islington, and Kensington and Chelsea. These findings echo London’s overall unemployment rate which is significantly higher than the rest of England, with the sharpest rises in Outer London.
Unemployment rate (2024 Q4 and 2025 Q4)
Unemployment rate 1 year change (2024 Q4 and 2025 Q4)
The figures presented here for the London boroughs are modelled estimates of unemployment for the 12 months to September of each year. The figure for the London average is based on responses to the Annual Population Survey. The unemployment rate is the proportion of economically active people (that is those either employed or unemployed) who are unemployed.
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