Britain’s labour market is showing a widening divide between men and women, with male unemployment rising sharply to levels not seen for more than a decade.
Pressure is growing on Labour to reverse the trend, with tax receipts falling and benefit claims rising.
Male unemployment reached 5.7 per cent in the three months to December, compared with 4.7 per cent for women, according to the latest labour market data.
The one‑percentage‑point gap is the largest since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
The national unemployment rate has climbed to 5.2 per cent, a level last seen during the pandemic, but the headline figure masks significant regional and sector‑specific variation.
London faces the most acute pressures, with unemployment reaching 7.6 per cent in the capital.
Male unemployment is now at its highest level in more than 10 years, reflecting structural pressures in sectors where men are more heavily employed.
The divide is largely driven by differences in the types of industries where men and women work.
Women are more likely to work in public‑sector roles, particularly in health and social care, which have been less exposed to recent tax changes and cost pressures.
The labour market is showing a widening divide between men and women
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Men are more heavily represented in private‑sector industries where rising employer costs and wage increases have contributed to reduced hiring.
Manufacturing, where nearly three‑quarters of workers are male, has lost 41,000 jobs since Rachel Reeves delivered her first Budget.
Retail, wholesale and motor trades have shed 74,000 roles, while hospitality employment has fallen by 63,000.
By contrast, the public sector has continued to expand, with the NHS adding 42,000 roles, alongside 32,000 new public administration jobs and 14,000 in education.
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, said: “More men are looking for work, and the sectors where vacancies and jobs have declined more are male‑dominated.”
The impact on men’s mental health of being jobless could be profound
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The disparity is most pronounced among younger workers. Unemployment among men aged 16 to 24 has reached 19 per cent, the highest level since 2014.
Female unemployment in the same age group stands at 13.1 per cent and has remained relatively stable.
Including those classed as economically inactive, 13.4 per cent of young men are not in employment, education or training, compared with 11.9 per cent of young women.
Mr Evans said: “Women are getting better qualifications through education and being more likely to stay in education. For young men outside the system, this is very worrying, given the long‑term damage being out of work and education has.”
Naomi Clayton, chief executive of the Institute for Employment Studies, said: “One‑in‑four young men who are looking for work have been unemployed for more than a year.”
Martin Beck, chief economist at WPI Strategy, warned that male unemployment could become embedded in the wider economy.
“The risk here is that a concentration of employment growth in public services and high‑skill digital sectors, alongside contraction in construction and other male‑dominated capital‑intensive industries, may signal a structural imbalance in the UK labour market,” he said.
Construction workers, he added, cannot quickly retrain into technology roles, increasing the risk of long‑term inactivity.
Labour promised to kickstart growth in the economy
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Len Shackleton, professor and economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Apart from the human consequences of the labour market trends, they have strongly negative fiscal effects as tax take falls and benefit payments rise.
“They also expose the fallaciousness of Government claims about promoting growth.”
Economists expect the figures to intensify debate inside Government about the balance between public‑sector expansion and private‑sector job creation.
Officials are expected to monitor labour‑market shifts closely as policy decisions are considered in the coming months.