What was claimed
Unemployment has risen in every single month under Labour.
Our verdict
That’s not quite right. Both the number of people who are unemployed and the unemployment rate have increased overall since Labour took office in July 2024, but both have seen some month-to-month decreases.
“You've had unemployment rising in every single month that you've been in power”.
Conservative shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and shadow Northern Ireland secretary Alex Burghart claimed on LBC yesterday that unemployment has risen “in every single month” since Labour took office.
Both the number of people who are unemployed and the unemployment rate have increased overall since Labour entered government in July 2024, but both have seen some month-to-month decreases within this period.
The Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey figures show several small month-to-month decreases in the number of people unemployed during Labour’s time in government, as well as some small decreases in the unrounded unemployment rate figures (when the headline figures rounded to one decimal place remained the same).
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We’ve written in more detail about how unemployment is measured in our explainer, which also features the latest figures.
We’ve seen this claim made by various Conservative MPs in recent months, including the party’s leader Kemi Badenoch.
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