UK public spending on unemployment by year
Benefits and support for people who are unemployed.
£1.4 billion
HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) put public spending on unemployment at £1.4 billion in 2025-26. In 2024-25 it was £1.3 billion, so the cash figure changed by +7.1%. The highest year in these tables is 2016-17, at £2.2 billion.
Spending by year
| Year | Cash | Change on previous year | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | £1.4 billion | +7.1% | PESA 2026 |
| 2024-25 | £1.3 billion | +3.8% | PESA 2026 |
| 2023-24 | £1.3 billion | +19.1% | PESA 2026 |
| 2022-23 | £1.1 billion | -13.5% | PESA 2026 |
| 2021-22 | £1.2 billion | -21.9% | PESA 2026 |
| 2020-21 | £1.6 billion | +31.3% | PESA 2021 |
| 2019-20 | £1.2 billion | -29.4% | PESA 2021 |
| 2018-19 | £1.7 billion | -16.8% | PESA 2021 |
| 2017-18 | £2.0 billion | -9.2% | PESA 2021 |
| 2016-17 | £2.2 billion | PESA 2021 |
PESA Table 5.2, line "10.5 Unemployment". About these figures · CSV
Sources and receipts
- Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2026, Chapter 5 tables, HM Treasury.
File: PESA_2026_CP_Chapter_5_tables.xlsx. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
ccb4539bb837c2b6a7f9509da49bd409eb9e5a910f3332311b494291fbd33107 - Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2021, Chapter 5 tables, HM Treasury.
File: PESA_2021_CP_Chapter_5.xlsx. Read 2026-10-15. SHA-256
7c68482aafa0fddab1cac06a01347a177533db9df354d384ea82f465ee61f6ec