Below you will find the latest labour market statistics for May, the data in this piece is taken from the ONS report.
Headlines For January To March 2020
- Employment rate was estimated at a joint record high of 76.6%, 0.6 percentage points higher than a year earlier and 0.2 percentage points up on the previous quarter.
- Unemployment rate was estimated at 3.9%, 0.1 percentage point higher than this time last year and the previous quarter.
- There were an estimated 637,000 vacancies in the UK in February to April 2020; this is 170,000 fewer than the previous quarter and 210,000 fewer than a year earlier
- Claimant count has gone up for all age groups comparing data from April to May 2020 we can see 75% more 25 – 34 year olds are claiming Universal Credit, 70% more 35-49 year olds and 60% more 60+ year olds.
Youth Unemployment 16 – 24 Year Olds
515,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed January – March 2020, a increase of 2,000 from the previous quarter and an increase of 49,000 on the year before
- The Youth Unemployment rate is 11.9%, up slightly from the previous quarter and from 10.8% a year before.
- The UK Youth Employment rate is 55.6%, largely unchanged from the previous quarter
- Claimant count has gone up 58% from March 2020 to April 2020
Our View
We have huge concerns for young people at this time, we know this data will change in the coming months and will start to show the real challenges young people are facing. We hear from our network of young people that they are concerned about the long term stability of their jobs and those still in education are really worried about the career paths and jobs that will be available to them.
As an organisation working with young people at its heart we have responded quickly to provide a huge range of support and advice for young people, we are ramping up our efforts with our youth ambassadors to ensure they have the support they need too.
As experts in youth employment we have created a range of support for businesses, engaging your young workforce at this time is really important and that engagement to future talent will be ever more important as the current situation passes.
We remain close to policy discussions championing what is needed for those young people missing education, transitioning without support, finding themselves without work or unsure of how and if their apprenticeship can progress. We helped found the Covid-19 Youth Employment Group and will be leading cross sector discussions on best practise and ways forward.
