Introduction
- The latest ONS regional labour market data was published on 21 April. The latest headline survey data covered the three-month period of December 2025 to February 2026.
- The release includes the most up to date statistics about the labour market in the 12 UK ITL1 areas (the nine broad English regions, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). It accompanies a more detailed UK labour market summary.
- The North East ITL1 region includes the North East and Tees Valley combined authority areas.
- Headline regional labour market rates in the release are based on responses to the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The official release includes additional estimates of employment from other sources, including administrative data. This is because falling response rates mean that some LFS-based statistics have become volatile, although methodology improvements have reduced this from early 2025 onwards.
- Most of the North East Evidence Hub focuses on statistics at combined authority (CA) or local authority (LA) area and LFS statistics are released every three months for these geographies, with data from surveys covering a 12-month period. This report is included on the hub to provide a timely, but limited, snapshot of headline trends for the broader North East ITL1 region.
- The rates and totals in this report relate to the North East ITL1 region, except where stated otherwise. Changes in rates are measured in pp (percentage points). Totals are rounded to the nearest 100 so subtotals may not sum to the overall total.
North East regional employment indicators
Dec 2025-Feb 2026,
lowest of 9 English regions,
UK rate: 75.0%.
Based on survey responses.
Compared to Dec 24-Feb 25,
latest total: 1.259 million,
change in 16-64 rate: +1.6 pp,
UK rate unchanged.
Mar 2025 to Mar 2026,
latest total: 1.123 million,
0.4% decrease; administrative,
seasonally adjusted data,
North CA area change: -4,400
Dec 2024 to Dec 2025,
latest total: 1.250 million,
a sum of estimates from various
sources, differs from employment
as workers can have >1 job.
Male and female employment
Dec 2025-Feb 2026,
lowest of 9 English regions,
UK rate: 77.8%.
LFS-based estimates.
Dec 2025-Feb 2026,
Lowest of 9 English regions,
UK rate: 72.3%,
NE pp gap to UK: smaller for females.
Compared to Dec 24-Feb 25,
latest total: 0.635 million,
change in 16-64 rate: +3.6 pp,
UK change: -0.6 pp.
Compared to Dec 24-Feb 25,
latest total: 0.623 million,
change in 16-64 rate: -0.3 pp,
UK change: +0.5 pp.
Dec 2025-Feb 2026,
highest of 9 regions,
UK rate: 21.0%,
NE female rate: 27.4%,
NE male rate: 20.8%.
Compared to Dec 24-Feb 25, 16-64,
latest total: 0.412 million,
change in rate: -2.8 pp,
UK change: -0.4 pp.
Dec 25-Feb 26, % of
economically active adults,
2nd highest regional rate,
UK rate: 4.9%.
NE total: 81,200,
+20,200 in latest year.
Mar 2026, claimants of benefits
relating to job seeking,
UK rate: 4.0%.
NE region claimants: 64,300,
-2,100 in latest year.
Year to Mar 2026, median,
PAYE payrolled employees,
UK change: +4.3%,
latest CPIH inflation rate: 3.4%.
NE median: 94.8% of UK median.
Oct-Dec 2025,
+3,000 in latest year,
3.5% of all in employment,
UK rate: 3.6%,
LFS-based data.
Dec 25-Feb 26,
LFS-based data,
individuals who had been
made redundant in the 3 months
prior to interview.
Dec 25-Feb 26,
based on HR1 forms submitted
by employers in this period.
These are only required when firms
wish to make 20+ redundancies.
Further analysis
Additional evidence about other aspects of the labour market is available across the Evidence Hub. The links below also include links to the ONS data sources.
