Who are the unemployed? Evidence from the United Kingdom

•This paper develops an evidence-based measure of unemployment using the UK data.•Groups are identified on the basis of the reason for their labour market state.•Hazard rates into employment are used to characterise the behaviour of groups.•Three inactive groups are identified as behaviourally similar to the unemployed.•The alternative measure derived appears to be stable across time and countries.

Using the UK Labour Force Survey 2005-2012, we analyse heterogeneity among non-employment subgroups in future employment hazards. Based on the results, we propose alternative measures of unemployment that include out-of-the-labour-force subgroups with similar or higher hazards to the officially unemployed.