| 1st quarter | Labour force, thousands | | 841.4 | 831.2 | 819.3 | 801.4 | 748.8 | 723.5 | 698.2 | 683.6 | 675.9 | 673.7 | 654.3 | 673.3 | 668.2 | 654.3 | 651.9 | 660.7 | 658.7 | 676.5 | 680.0 | 679.2 | 679.1 | 675.7 | 671.9 | 675.3 | 670.0 | 653.5 | 660.1 | 665.0 | 679.3 | 690.3 | 683.8 | 695.1 |
| ..employed, thousands | | 835.9 | 826.6 | 811.6 | 784.0 | 704.4 | 668.7 | 630.0 | 616.6 | 610.8 | 605.3 | 575.5 | 564.0 | 572.9 | 575.7 | 578.7 | 592.5 | 594.8 | 631.5 | 644.0 | 650.9 | 602.3 | 541.7 | 574.5 | 597.9 | 602.5 | 597.0 | 615.9 | 621.8 | 640.9 | 643.2 | 651.9 | 660.1 |
| ..unemployed, thousands | | 5.5 | 4.7 | 7.7 | 17.3 | 44.4 | 54.8 | 68.2 | 67.0 | 65.1 | 68.4 | 78.8 | 109.3 | 95.2 | 78.6 | 73.3 | 68.2 | 63.8 | 44.9 | 36.0 | 28.3 | 76.8 | 133.9 | 97.4 | 77.4 | 67.5 | 56.5 | 44.2 | 43.2 | 38.4 | 47.0 | 31.9 | 35.0 |
| Inactive persons, thousands | | 254.9 | 270.3 | 282.8 | 294.0 | 318.1 | 321.3 | 327.7 | 328.3 | 324.6 | 319.9 | 333.4 | 340.5 | 341.4 | 350.9 | 350.4 | 340.2 | 340.7 | 318.1 | 307.0 | 300.3 | 292.7 | 287.7 | 282.6 | 268.6 | 265.7 | 277.1 | 266.6 | 263.0 | 244.1 | 232.2 | 239.1 | 226.4 |
| Aged 15-69 total, thousands | | 1 096.4 | 1 101.5 | 1 102.1 | 1 095.3 | 1 067.0 | 1 044.8 | 1 025.9 | 1 011.9 | 1 000.5 | 993.6 | 987.7 | 1 013.8 | 1 009.5 | 1 005.2 | 1 002.4 | 1 000.8 | 999.4 | 994.6 | 986.9 | 979.5 | 971.7 | 963.4 | 954.5 | 943.9 | 935.7 | 930.6 | 926.6 | 928.0 | 923.4 | 922.5 | 922.9 | 921.5 |
| Labour force participation rate, % | | 76.7 | 75.5 | 74.3 | 73.2 | 70.2 | 69.2 | 68.1 | 67.6 | 67.6 | 67.8 | 66.2 | 66.4 | 66.2 | 65.1 | 65.0 | 66.0 | 65.9 | 68.0 | 68.9 | 69.3 | 69.9 | 70.1 | 70.4 | 71.5 | 71.6 | 70.2 | 71.2 | 71.7 | 73.6 | 74.8 | 74.1 | 75.4 |
| Employment rate, % | | 76.2 | 75.0 | 73.6 | 71.6 | 66.0 | 64.0 | 61.4 | 60.9 | 61.1 | 60.9 | 58.3 | 55.6 | 56.8 | 57.3 | 57.7 | 59.2 | 59.5 | 63.5 | 65.2 | 66.5 | 62.0 | 56.2 | 60.2 | 63.3 | 64.4 | 64.2 | 66.5 | 67.0 | 69.4 | 69.7 | 70.6 | 71.6 |
| Unemployment rate, % | | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 7.6 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 10.1 | 12.0 | 16.2 | 14.3 | 12.0 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.7 | 6.6 | 5.3 | 4.2 | 11.3 | 19.8 | 14.5 | 11.5 | 10.1 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 4.7 | 5.0 |
| 2nd quarter | Labour force, thousands | | 842.6 | 828.6 | 816.4 | 791.2 | 747.3 | 728.2 | 700.2 | 683.7 | 676.4 | 669.4 | 651.5 | 673.4 | 666.0 | 648.7 | 666.0 | 665.0 | 667.4 | 692.9 | 689.7 | 678.4 | 676.5 | 671.4 | 675.1 | 674.6 | 677.5 | 667.4 | 675.0 | 692.7 | 693.6 | 692.3 | 690.8 | 683.4 |
| ..employed, thousands | | 838.2 | 824.0 | 805.0 | 766.9 | 698.7 | 674.1 | 632.6 | 618.4 | 612.4 | 605.4 | 575.6 | 583.0 | 578.4 | 583.1 | 590.1 | 596.0 | 610.8 | 649.8 | 655.5 | 651.4 | 587.0 | 546.6 | 586.3 | 606.3 | 622.4 | 619.9 | 630.8 | 647.4 | 644.8 | 657.3 | 655.2 | 634.0 |
| ..unemployed, thousands | | 4.4 | 4.7 | 11.4 | 24.4 | 48.6 | 54.1 | 67.7 | 65.3 | 64.0 | 64.0 | 75.9 | 90.4 | 87.7 | 65.6 | 75.9 | 69.0 | 56.6 | 43.1 | 34.2 | 27.0 | 89.6 | 124.9 | 88.9 | 68.3 | 55.0 | 47.5 | 44.2 | 45.3 | 48.8 | 35.0 | 35.6 | 49.4 |
| Inactive persons, thousands | | 253.8 | 272.9 | 285.7 | 304.1 | 319.6 | 316.6 | 325.7 | 328.2 | 324.1 | 324.2 | 336.2 | 340.4 | 343.5 | 356.6 | 336.4 | 335.9 | 332.1 | 301.8 | 297.2 | 301.1 | 295.2 | 292.0 | 279.4 | 269.3 | 258.2 | 263.2 | 251.7 | 235.3 | 229.8 | 230.2 | 232.1 | 238.1 |
| Aged 15-69 total, thousands | | 1 096.4 | 1 101.5 | 1 102.1 | 1 095.3 | 1 067.0 | 1 044.8 | 1 025.9 | 1 011.9 | 1 000.5 | 993.6 | 987.7 | 1 013.8 | 1 009.5 | 1 005.2 | 1 002.4 | 1 000.8 | 999.4 | 994.6 | 986.9 | 979.5 | 971.7 | 963.4 | 954.5 | 943.9 | 935.7 | 930.6 | 926.6 | 928.0 | 923.4 | 922.5 | 922.9 | 921.5 |
| Labour force participation rate, % | | 76.9 | 75.2 | 74.1 | 72.2 | 70.0 | 69.7 | 68.3 | 67.6 | 67.6 | 67.4 | 66.0 | 66.4 | 66.0 | 64.5 | 66.4 | 66.4 | 66.8 | 69.7 | 69.9 | 69.3 | 69.6 | 69.7 | 70.7 | 71.5 | 72.4 | 71.7 | 72.8 | 74.6 | 75.1 | 75.0 | 74.9 | 74.2 |
| Employment rate, % | | 76.5 | 74.8 | 73.0 | 70.0 | 65.5 | 64.5 | 61.7 | 61.1 | 61.2 | 60.9 | 58.3 | 57.5 | 57.3 | 58.0 | 58.9 | 59.5 | 61.1 | 65.3 | 66.4 | 66.5 | 60.4 | 56.7 | 61.4 | 64.2 | 66.5 | 66.6 | 68.1 | 69.8 | 69.8 | 71.3 | 71.0 | 68.8 |
| Unemployment rate, % | | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 11.6 | 13.4 | 13.2 | 10.1 | 11.4 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 13.2 | 18.6 | 13.2 | 10.1 | 8.1 | 7.1 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 7.2 |
| 3rd quarter | Labour force, thousands | | 844.0 | 832.1 | 818.1 | 785.4 | 748.0 | 735.0 | 704.0 | 690.0 | 680.1 | 667.2 | 659.7 | 690.5 | 679.3 | 661.2 | 676.2 | 667.4 | 660.7 | 689.8 | 688.2 | 697.3 | 688.1 | 672.4 | 687.4 | 681.7 | 671.7 | 677.0 | 689.7 | 694.8 | 693.3 | 692.6 | 692.5 | 695.4 |
| ..employed, thousands | | 839.1 | 826.7 | 804.0 | 750.1 | 697.7 | 678.7 | 635.5 | 621.0 | 613.1 | 603.0 | 577.6 | 592.3 | 593.7 | 590.7 | 609.6 | 597.1 | 614.0 | 652.9 | 659.9 | 653.9 | 588.0 | 568.5 | 613.3 | 616.3 | 618.4 | 625.7 | 653.4 | 641.9 | 656.8 | 656.0 | 665.0 | 641.4 |
| ..unemployed, thousands | | 4.9 | 5.4 | 14.1 | 35.3 | 50.3 | 56.2 | 68.5 | 69.0 | 67.0 | 64.2 | 82.1 | 98.2 | 85.6 | 70.5 | 66.5 | 70.3 | 46.7 | 36.9 | 28.3 | 43.4 | 100.1 | 103.9 | 74.1 | 65.4 | 53.3 | 51.3 | 36.3 | 52.9 | 36.5 | 36.6 | 27.5 | 54.0 |
| Inactive persons, thousands | | 252.4 | 269.5 | 284.0 | 310.0 | 318.9 | 309.9 | 321.9 | 321.9 | 320.4 | 326.4 | 328.0 | 323.3 | 330.2 | 344.1 | 326.2 | 333.5 | 338.7 | 304.8 | 298.8 | 282.2 | 283.6 | 291.0 | 267.2 | 262.3 | 263.9 | 253.6 | 237.0 | 233.2 | 230.1 | 229.9 | 230.4 | 226.1 |
| Aged 15-69 total, thousands | | 1 096.4 | 1 101.5 | 1 102.1 | 1 095.3 | 1 067.0 | 1 044.8 | 1 025.9 | 1 011.9 | 1 000.5 | 993.6 | 987.7 | 1 013.8 | 1 009.5 | 1 005.2 | 1 002.4 | 1 000.8 | 999.4 | 994.6 | 986.9 | 979.5 | 971.7 | 963.4 | 954.5 | 943.9 | 935.7 | 930.6 | 926.6 | 928.0 | 923.4 | 922.5 | 922.9 | 921.5 |
| Labour force participation rate, % | | 77.0 | 75.5 | 74.2 | 71.7 | 70.1 | 70.3 | 68.6 | 68.2 | 68.0 | 67.1 | 66.8 | 68.1 | 67.3 | 65.8 | 67.5 | 66.7 | 66.1 | 69.4 | 69.7 | 71.2 | 70.8 | 69.8 | 72.0 | 72.2 | 71.8 | 72.7 | 74.4 | 74.9 | 75.1 | 75.1 | 75.0 | 75.5 |
| Employment rate, % | | 76.5 | 75.0 | 73.0 | 68.5 | 65.4 | 65.0 | 61.9 | 61.4 | 61.3 | 60.7 | 58.5 | 58.4 | 58.8 | 58.8 | 60.8 | 59.7 | 61.4 | 65.6 | 66.9 | 66.8 | 60.5 | 59.0 | 64.2 | 65.3 | 66.1 | 67.2 | 70.5 | 69.2 | 71.1 | 71.1 | 72.1 | 69.6 |
| Unemployment rate, % | | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 4.5 | 6.7 | 7.6 | 9.7 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 12.4 | 14.2 | 12.6 | 10.7 | 9.8 | 10.5 | 7.1 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 6.2 | 14.6 | 15.5 | 10.8 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 5.3 | 7.6 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 7.8 |
| 4th quarter | Labour force, thousands | | 842.4 | 832.7 | 820.9 | 784.2 | 748.0 | 737.0 | 703.2 | 693.5 | 682.7 | 664.3 | 657.8 | 684.8 | 674.0 | 668.6 | 669.5 | 660.8 | 668.8 | 689.3 | 677.9 | 696.3 | 675.9 | 674.7 | 677.1 | 668.8 | 666.8 | 666.6 | 677.3 | 676.8 | 696.0 | 697.5 | 695.8 | .. |
| ..employed, thousands | | 838.4 | 826.1 | 805.7 | 744.4 | 694.8 | 680.1 | 635.3 | 621.3 | 615.6 | 596.4 | 572.6 | 582.5 | 590.2 | 585.0 | 607.6 | 597.2 | 620.9 | 650.8 | 649.8 | 644.0 | 570.1 | 583.1 | 600.4 | 607.0 | 608.3 | 623.9 | 633.6 | 632.1 | 659.0 | 666.7 | 666.8 | .. |
| ..unemployed, thousands | | 4.0 | 6.6 | 15.2 | 39.7 | 53.2 | 56.9 | 67.9 | 72.2 | 67.1 | 67.9 | 85.2 | 102.4 | 83.9 | 83.7 | 61.9 | 63.5 | 47.9 | 38.4 | 28.1 | 52.3 | 105.8 | 91.6 | 76.7 | 61.8 | 58.5 | 42.7 | 43.7 | 44.7 | 37.0 | 30.8 | 29.0 | .. |
| Inactive persons, thousands | | 253.9 | 268.8 | 281.2 | 311.2 | 319.0 | 307.8 | 322.7 | 318.4 | 317.8 | 329.3 | 329.9 | 329.0 | 335.5 | 336.6 | 332.9 | 340.1 | 330.6 | 305.3 | 309.0 | 283.2 | 295.8 | 288.7 | 277.3 | 275.1 | 268.8 | 264.0 | 249.3 | 251.2 | 227.4 | 225.0 | 227.1 | .. |
| Aged 15-69 total, thousands | | 1 096.4 | 1 101.5 | 1 102.1 | 1 095.3 | 1 067.0 | 1 044.8 | 1 025.9 | 1 011.9 | 1 000.5 | 993.6 | 987.7 | 1 013.8 | 1 009.5 | 1 005.2 | 1 002.4 | 1 000.8 | 999.4 | 994.6 | 986.9 | 979.5 | 971.7 | 963.4 | 954.4 | 943.9 | 935.7 | 930.6 | 926.6 | 928.0 | 923.4 | 922.5 | 922.9 | .. |
| Labour force participation rate, % | | 76.8 | 75.6 | 74.5 | 71.6 | 70.1 | 70.5 | 68.5 | 68.5 | 68.2 | 66.9 | 66.6 | 67.5 | 66.8 | 66.5 | 66.8 | 66.0 | 66.9 | 69.3 | 68.7 | 71.1 | 69.6 | 70.0 | 70.9 | 70.9 | 71.3 | 71.6 | 73.1 | 72.9 | 75.4 | 75.6 | 75.4 | .. |
| Employment rate, % | | 76.5 | 75.0 | 73.1 | 68.0 | 65.1 | 65.1 | 61.9 | 61.4 | 61.5 | 60.0 | 58.0 | 57.5 | 58.5 | 58.2 | 60.6 | 59.7 | 62.1 | 65.4 | 65.8 | 65.7 | 58.7 | 60.5 | 62.9 | 64.3 | 65.0 | 67.0 | 68.4 | 68.1 | 71.4 | 72.3 | 72.3 | .. |
| Unemployment rate, % | | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 5.1 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 9.7 | 10.4 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 13.0 | 14.9 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 9.2 | 9.6 | 7.2 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 7.5 | 15.7 | 13.6 | 11.3 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | .. |