The number of unemployed people in London reached a record high of 376,000 at the end of 2025, new data from the London Datastore shows.
The November 2025 unemployment rate for London residents over the age of 16 was 7.2%, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic in 2020, unemployment figures in London were declining, with a low of 214,000 in 2019.
Between 2021 and 2023, the high employment numbers from Covid began to decline again.
However, in the last two years they have skyrocketed again, increasing by over 100,000.
In November 2025, London was the area of the UK with the highest unemployment rate.
It was a full percentage point higher than the next worst area of the UK for unemployment, the North East with an unemployment rate of 6.2%.
However, the UK average was only 5.1%.
The data comes after the UK government proposed an unemployment insurance benefit to reward jobseekers in October 2025.
However, the government recently announced that the Jobseekers Allowance will end on 1 April 2026 and claimants should move to the Universal Credit payment.
The Jobseekers Allowance makes it possible for people who can prove they are actively looking for a new job to receive financial support.
By contrast, Universal Credit is a means-tested monthly payment.
Other legacy benefits being scrapped by Labour and replaced with Universal Credit include Housing Benefit and Child Tax Credit.
Featured image: useche360 via Pixabay
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