Britain's unemployment rate rose to 4.9% in the three months to May 2026, adding to concerns about a softening labour market.
The Office for National Statistics said the rate was up 0.2 percentage points on the same period a year earlier.
On a quarterly basis, unemployment edged down by 0.1 percentage points from the previous three months.
Payroll data from HM Revenue and Customs showed the number of employees on company books fell by 85,000, or 0.3%, between May 2025 and May 2026.
Month-on-month, payroll numbers were broadly unchanged, rising by just 3,000 between April and May.
Vacancies continued to decline, falling by 7,000 in the April to June quarter to an estimated 712,000, a 0.9% drop.
The ONS said the fall was led by smaller businesses, which cited labour and operating costs as reasons for not hiring.
The working-age employment rate stood at 75.1%, down 0.1 percentage points over the year but up by the same amount on the quarter.
Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, described the overall picture as relatively steady, though some measures continued to point to softening.
Private-sector pay growth slipped below 3% for the first time since 2020.
Overall regular wage growth held at 3.4% in the quarter to May, still outpacing inflation by 0.4% once the Consumer Prices Index is taken into account.
The figures are likely to sharpen concern about the jobs market heading into the second half of the year.
