Young people hit hard as UK unemployment marches upwards

"When Labour came to power, it set a long-term ambition of increasing the employment rate the share of the working age population with a job to 80%. The latest data suggest things are moving in the wrong direction. The employment rate in the three months to October was 74.9%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down 0.3 percentage points on the quarter. This shift was not driven by economic inactivity a significant worry after the pandemic, as many people took early retirement or were unable to stay in work for health reasons and was the focus of Labour's Get Britain Working white paper last year."

"According to the ONS's labour force survey released on Tuesday, the unemployment rate in the three months to October rose to a four-year high of 5.1% 0.8 percentage points higher than a year ago. Inactivity has been drifting down to 21%, 0.7 percentage points lower, and not out of line with the norm before Covid. Health-related inactivity remains crucially important but is not driving the current deterioration in the jobs market."

"Young people have been hit particularly hard: the number of 18- to 24-year-olds out of work, at 546,000, is the highest since 2015 and up 85,000 on the quarter. Young people again find themselves at the heart of this downturn, just as they were in the wake of the financial crisis and Covid. Policymakers and employers need to redouble efforts to support them, Cominetti said. Labour intends to equalise the minimum wage for younger workers with the adult rate, with another significant rise due in April, but some commentators, including the Resolution Foundation, have raised questions about whether that is the right step in the current climate."

The employment rate in the three months to October was 74.9%, down 0.3 percentage points on the quarter. The unemployment rate rose to 5.1%, 0.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier, signalling a sustained uptick in joblessness. Economic inactivity has fallen to 21%, 0.7 percentage points lower and not the main driver of the downturn; health-related inactivity remains important but is not causing the current deterioration. Young people have been hit hardest, with 546,000 18- to 24-year-olds out of work, the highest since 2015 and up 85,000 on the quarter. Plans to equalise younger minimum wages with adult rates are under debate given the fragile labour market.

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