LIVE: Rachel Reeves unveils the 2026 Spring Statement

Britain’s unemployment rate is forecast to climb to its highest level since the pandemic, according to the budget watchdog. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said the number of people out of work who are looking for a job would hit 1.9m by the end of the year. The fiscal watchdog said the unemployment rate would climb to 5.3pc, its highest level since the latter months of 2020 when Covid had plunged the nation into lockdown. The forecast was published after Rachel Reeves admitted in her Spring Statement that the economy will grow at a slower pace than previously expected this year. The Chancellor said that the OBR had predicted that GDP would expand by 1.1pc in 2026 – lower than its previous estimate for growth of 1.4pc – blaming lower net migration for the decline. The downgrade threatens to undermine Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge before the 2024 General Election that Britain would have the fastest growth in the G7. Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/03/03/uk-spring-statement-oil-price-us-iran-war-ftse-100-markets/ Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.