UK unemployment rises to 5%, the highest level in four years

ONS says jobs market worsening before budget, as HMRC reports falling number of workers on firms' payrolls

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The UK unemployment rate has risen by more than expected to reach its highest level in four years, fuelling expectations of a Bank of England interest rate cut after Rachel Reeves's budget.

With under three weeks to go before the chancellor's tax and spending statement, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the headline unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in the three months to the end of September, up from 4.8% in the previous quarter.