Employment data published recently shows that the overall rate of unemployment in the UK grew from 3.9 percent to 4.1 percent from May to July of 2020. The majority of job losses were among those aged between 16 and 24. According to official figures, almost half of those furloughed since May returned to work by mid-August rather than into unemployment or inactivity; however, it is expected that employment will fall more sharply and unemployment will increase more quickly as the furlough scheme nears its end in November.

In Northern Ireland, labour market statistics published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency on the same day revealed that proposed and confirmed redundancies more than doubled since August 2019, with record high numbers recorded in June and July. However, the Northern Ireland unemployment rate (2.9 percent) for the period May–July 2020 remains below the UK rate (4.1 percent), the European Union (27 Member States) rate (6.7 percent) for May 2020 and the Republic of Ireland rate (5.3 percent) for June 2020.