The ONS have released the latest Labour Market Overview covering the months July – September 2022.
What Does This Mean For Youth Employment?
Headlines for young people aged 16 – 24
In work:
- The employment rate has remained the same as the previous quarter at 54.7%
- The employment level now stands at just over 3,741,000
Unemployment:
- The unemployment rate has fallen marginally by 0.01ppts to 9.04%
- There are currently just over 372,000 young people classed as unemployed
Economically inactive
- The economic inactivity rate is 39.84%, down by 0.01 ppts on the quarter.
- The number of young people who are economically inactive stands at 2,724,127 up by 1,480
Headlines for all ages
In work:
- The employment rate for 16-64-year-olds is 75.48%, a slight decrease of 0.07ppts on the previous quarter and remains lower than pre-pandemic levels.
- The number of people in employment fell slightly by 14,611 on the previous quarter and now stands at 32,739,449 for all ages.
Unemployment
- The unemployment rate for all ages is 3.6%, up 0.1 ppts on the previous quarter but still below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
- The number of people who are unemployed rose by 36,484 on the previous quarter.
Economically inactive
- The economic inactivity rate for 16-64-year-olds stands at 21.64%, down 0.01 ppts on the previous quarter.
- The number of those classed as economically inactive was down by just under 1,000 for 16-64-year-olds.
Our Commentary
This month’s figures show that the youth unemployment rate remains at historic lows despite a slight increase of 0.7ppts on the previous quarter. However, the more alarming figure is the number of young people who are economically inactive which is up by 22,000 on the previous quarter and up by over 200,000 compared to pre-pandemic figures (Dec-Feb 2020). There are further reasons to be concerned as the number of young people who are economically inactive and not in full-time education has also risen by just over 66,000 on the previous quarter to 886,000 overall.
We know that young people are feeling increased anxiety about their futures, the Youth Voice Census provides a detailed view of the challenges facing this group of young people, which includes a lack of confidence in finding good quality work where they live.
As the government prepares to announce its Autumn Statement and a vision of how we move from the current cost of living crisis it really is imperative that there is a vision for young people and how they can be supported to move into good quality education, employment and training opportunities. The role of employers in providing good quality work should not be forgotten either as both policy and employment systems need to work together for young people.
