The ONS have released the latest Labour Market Overview covering the months March – May 2022.
What Does This Mean For Youth Employment?
Headlines for young people aged 16 – 24
In work:
- The employment rate dropped to 54.9%, down 0.17% on the previous quarter .
- There are 10,031 fewer young people are in work with the total number now standing at 3,741,978
Unemployment:
- The unemployment rate dropped to 10.4%, 0.4 percentage points down on the last quarter.
- The number of unemployed young people rose by 20,743 to 434,111.
Economically inactive:
- The economic inactivity rate is 38.8% up 0.5 percentage points on the quarter.
- The number of young people who are economically inactive stands at 2,645,219 up by 34,059.
Headlines for all ages
In work
- The employment rate for 16-64 year olds is 75.9%, an increase of 0.4ppts on the previous quarter but remains 0.7ppts lower than before the pandemic.
- Employment rose by 155,760 in the previous quarter and stands at 32,862,607 for all ages.
Unemployment
- The unemployment rate for all ages is 3.8%, down 0.1 ppts on the previous quarter and down 0.1 ppts below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels. Unemployment fell by 14,232 on the previous quarter
Economically inactive
- The economic inactivity rate for 16-64 year olds stands at 21.1%, down 0.2 ppts on the previous quarter.
- The number of those classed as economically inactive was down by 69,221 among 16-64 year olds.
Our Commentary
We have to get to grips with the participation crisis, we are seeing the employment rate fall and the number of economically inactive young people rise. There are now 624,071 16 – 24 year olds not in education and economically inactive, this is up 82,134 on the same time last year (541,937). At the same time there are 101,032 fewer 16-24 year olds in full time education than at the same time last year.
This isn’t an active choice, for most, the prospect of accessing quality opportunities in education, training or employment locally feels far out of their reach. Coupled with a rise in anxiety young people are left feeling hopeless. We are calling again for a Young Person’s Guarantee and will be asking the leadership hopefuls to sign young people’s asks for a Youth Friendly Prime Minister.
