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Employment v2

Key Messages

  • Employment in Somerset remains high but has weakened since 2023. The employment rate fell from 80.0% in Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 to 78.3% in Apr 2025 to Mar 2026, although it remains above the UK average of around 75%. 
  • Unemployment has increased but remains below national levels. Somerset’s unemployment rate rose from 2.1% to 2.8% between Apr 2023 to Mar 2024 and Apr 2025 to Mar 2026. Despite this increase, unemployment remains lower than the UK, averaging 1.2 percentage points below the national rate over the last decade. 
  • Economic inactivity has risen in Somerset, contrasting with regional and national trends. The inactivity rate increased from 17.3% to 20.2% since Apr 2023 to Mar 2024, while both the South West and UK have experienced declining inactivity rates over the same period. 
  • Long-term sickness is now the main reason for economic inactivity. In Jan 2025 to Dec 2025, 32% of economically inactive Somerset residents reported long-term sickness as their main reason for being out of work, compared with 28% in the South West and 29% across the UK. 
  • Labour market conditions have become less favourable nationally. UK vacancies have fallen by around 45% since their peak in 2022 and are now below pre-pandemic levels, indicating weaker demand for labour. 
  • Young people face growing challenges in entering the labour market. The proportion of Somerset 16–17-year-olds recorded as not in education, employment or training (NEET) or whose activity has increased. 

Labour market overview 

Somerset’s labour market has weakened since 2023 

  • Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity have all moved in an unfavourable direction since 2023. 
  • Employment has fallen from approximately 80 per cent to 78 per cent, while unemployment has increased from 2.1 per cent to 2.8 per cent. During the same period economic inactivity has also increased from 17.3 per cent to 20 per cent. 
  • Note, that these changes are within the 95 per cent confidence interval for Somerset (+/- 3 for employment and economic inactivity and +/-1.5 for unemployment), meaning that some of the change maybe be statistical noise rather than real change.  

See glossary page for more information on confidence intervals. 

  • Together, these indicators suggest that fewer residents are participating successfully in the labour market than in previous years. 

Despite year-to-year fluctuations, Somerset’s labour market appears to have followed a different direction of travel since 2023 the South West and UK. 

  • Recent estimates suggest employment has fallen more sharply in Somerset than in UK and South West 
  • Economic inactivity has risen in Somerset, whereas it has been falling in both South West and the UK. 

Long-term sickness is becoming a more significant barrier to employment

  • Long-term sickness is now the largest reason for economic inactivity in Somerset. Around 32 per cent of economically inactive residents report long-term sickness as their main reason for being out of work, compared with 28 per cent across the South West and 29 per cent nationally. 
  • Retirement remains an important factor, although its contribution has decreased over time. Inactivity linked to looking after family or home has increased in recent years. 
  • These trends suggest that health-related barriers are playing an increasingly important role in limiting workforce participation. 

Implications

  • Labour shortages are likely to become more pronounced if fewer residents participate in the labour market. 
  • An increasing number of residents experiencing health-related barriers to work may therefore create challenges both for employers seeking workers and for individuals seeking employment. 

What Are We Doing?

Somerset Council and its partners are delivering programmes designed to reduce barriers to employment and increase labour market participation. 

Breaking Barriers 

Connect to Work 

Supported Employment 

Employment Support