Labour Market Statistics: September 2022

The ONS have released the latest Labour Market Overview covering the months May – July 2022

What Does This Mean For Youth Employment?

Headlines for young people aged 16 – 24

In work:

• The employment rate was up slightly to 54.7%, an increase of 0.3ppts on the previous quarter.
• There are 30,457 more young people in work with the total number of young people in employment now standing at 3,738,117.

Unemployment:

• The unemployment rate has fallen by 1.3ppts to 9.1%
• The number of young people classified as unemployed fell by 56,826 to a total of 327,132.

Economically inactive

• The economic inactivity rate is 39.85%, up 0.5 ppts on the quarter.
• The number of young people who are economically inactive stands at 2,722,657 up by 35,756

Headlines for all ages

In work

• The employment rate for 16-64 year olds is 75.4%, a slight decrease of 0.1ppts on the previous quarter but remains lower than pre-pandemic levels.
• The number of people in employment fell by 69,720 in the previous quarter and stands at 32,746,412 for all ages.

Unemployment

• The unemployment rate for all ages is 3.6%, down 0.2 ppts on the previous quarter and below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
• The number of people who are unemployed fell by 69,720 on the previous quarter.

Economically inactive

• The economic inactivity rate for 16-64 year olds stands at 21.7%, up 0.2 ppts on the previous quarter.
• The number of those classed as economically inactive was up by 120,527 among 16-64 year olds.

Our Commentary

Whilst the unemployment rate for young people has fallen below 10% (now at 9.1%) it still remains the case that youth unemployment rate is around three times higher than the all-age rate. It is also important to note a concerning trend of growing economic inactivity amongst 16-24-year-olds, there are 178,000 more young people classified as economically inactive now compared to pre-pandemic figures. The low unemployment rate does not mean that there are more young people in work, in fact, there are 86,000 fewer 16-24-year-olds in employment when compared to pre-pandemic levels and more young people moved into economic inactivity during the last quarter than into work. The government must work to ensure that young people who are out of work are fully supported to engage with the labour market and are helped to find good quality employment.