Published youth unemployment figures are often misleading because they usually include full-time students who are seeking or are in-between temporary jobs  and  also because now, many young workers in sectors shut down by Covid 9, may be furloughed  in ‘zombie jobs’, unlikely to exist when the job protection measures end. But latest statistics for NEETs, (those … Continue reading Not a good time to be a NEET. →

As has been the case for some time, the monthly ONS statistics, released this week, don’t provide an accurate account of what’s really happening in the labour market -- everything continues to be distorted by the fact that up to 4 million are estimated to be furloughed. It's complicated further, because employers have much greater … Continue reading Young people – unemployed and underemployed. →

Since the start of the pandemic, official unemployment figures have been distorted by the furlough, but now, with just over 2 million workers still furloughed and with the scheme being replaced by new funding arrangements from the end of this month, the Resolution Foundation https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/jobs-jobs-jobs/ predicts an unemployment rate of just over 7 per cent … Continue reading Forever Young…. →

It is still too early to assess the real, longer term effects of the pandemic on the labour market; but as the furlough winds down, even if some businesses have reopened, this month’s figures show that (official) levels of employment have fallen by significantly. Overall, employment is down by nearly half a million since the … Continue reading Youth joblessness edges upwards →

Remember the NEETs?  An acronym created by the Blair government and then used across Europe. Latest figures for young people Not in Education, Employment or Training for the first six months of this year, show 13% (more than 1 in 8) of all 18- 24’s in this category. Other research shows 75% being NEET for … Continue reading Even before Covid, 1 in 8 still NEET →

Barely a month after Boris Johnson promised an apprenticeship for any young person who wanted one, Department for Education  data shows the devastating effects of the pandemic.  The number of apprentice starts have already declined in recent months – between August 2019 and January this year, the number of new apprenticeships was 7.3 per cent … Continue reading Covid generation: apprenticeships and grads continue to take a hammering →

Labour market figures for March to May, published today, show official unemployment remains at 3.9% or 1.35 million.    Of course, 9.4 million employees are furloughed, being paid but not actually working. A further 2.4 million of the self-employed are receiving financial support, while another 500,000 are temporarily away from their employment, so while not unemployed … Continue reading The vagaries and complexities of labour market statistics →

Welcomed by the TUC  and  Labour, Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a  £2 billion job placement scheme for 350 000 young people likely to be unemployed as a result of the Covid crisis, is a big step for a Tory Party that less than six months ago was committed to reigning in public spending to balance … Continue reading Sunak’s job placements: kick starting the Covid Generation? →

The Chancellor has announced plans to triple the number of 'traineeships', giving businesses a  £1,000 bonus for taking on a young person. So what are traineeships and what does it mean for young people? To begin with traineeships are not new. They were started in 2013  as a pre employment opportunity for young people under … Continue reading Sunak promises more: but what are ‘traineeships’? →

Although there are plenty of pointers, yesterday's employment statistics didn't  tell us very much about the real effects of the covid crisis on the labour market - and particularly the fate of young people, a new 'Covid Generation' It's been predicted youth unemployment will rise by 600,000. As with figures for unemployment across the population, … Continue reading Jobless figures: the lull before the storm →