Youth unemployment falls slightly –but almost 1 in 5 still NEET.

This month’s unemployment figures show a slight fall in youth joblessness. There are 941 000 young people looking for work (32% of these are in FT education) with the rate of unemployment falling by 0.5% to 20.5%. For those young people not in FT education the figure is 18.5%, a fall of 0.8% on … Continue reading Youth unemployment falls slightly –but almost 1 in 5 still NEET. →

The grads and the rest.

Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley Last week the Office for National Statistics published extensive data about graduates in the labour market (www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/graduates-in-the-labour-market/2013/index.html). It showed that the number of recent graduates working in ‘non-graduate’ jobs had risen from 37% in 2001 to 47%. Of course, there’s been a huge increase in graduate numbers with the percentage … Continue reading The grads and the rest. →

Labour market notes

Government representatives have made much of the fact that the monthly ONS figures show 30 million Britons are now in some form of employment. Though this is an all-time high, it’s still lower in percentage terms than before the downturn –as a result of a rising population. Nevertheless, unemployment fell by 48,000 to 2.47 million, … Continue reading Labour market notes →

Labour and youth unemployment

Liam Byrne MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary was quick to respond to recent Youth Contract statistics which show just 4,690 wage incentive payments have been made since the scheme began. (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2373637/Nick-Cleggs-plan-jobs-160-000-young-people-far-helped-just-4-600.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490) (www.politicshome.com/uk/article/82422/labour_youth_contract_has_utterly_failed_byrne.html) Survey’s also continue to indicate that many employers don’t know much about it , or are not interested in taking on young … Continue reading Labour and youth unemployment →

I.09 million NEETS

This month’s ONS figures based on Jan-March data showed total unemployment at 2,518,000; up 15,000 on the previous quarter –a rate of 7.8% and up 0.1 percentage points on last quarter. Youth unemployment stood at 958,000 down 17,000 in the quarter. At 20.7%, it was also down 0.1 percentage points. In themselves though, these figures … Continue reading I.09 million NEETS →

Youth unemployment edges up

Today’s ONS figures show the number of people in work fell by 2,000 in the latest quarter to February, to just under 30 million –the first time the figure has dropped for well over a year. With continued increases in the size of the labour force this has resulted in a 70000 increase in unemployment. … Continue reading Youth unemployment edges up →

Employment increases -but not for the young

Published on the morning of Osborne’s budget, labour market data for November to January shows a further increase in the number of those employed, up 600 000 to 29.73 million including a 200 000 increase in full-time employment over the last quarter –with ministers crowing about how the growth of private sector employment has offset … Continue reading Employment increases -but not for the young →

More working: but for less

The latest ONS labour market statistics for Q4 of 2012 show little change. Unemployment has fallen marginally – a drop of 14000 using the Labour Force Survey method and down 12,500 from December 2012 - using the claimant count. The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 was 71.5%. There were 29.73 million … Continue reading More working: but for less →

A brief comment on December’s unemployment figures

Though the Tories and sections of the media have celebrated the ‘record fall’ in unemployment, the figures tell a different story, particularly for young people. The ONS data shows a 75 000 fall in joblessness for 16-24 year olds; but only 13 000 more in work. This is because of a fall in the overall … Continue reading A brief comment on December’s unemployment figures →

Making sense of unemployment statistics

As the Olympics fade, a fall in unemployment is good news for government ministers desperate to hang onto any feel good factor – yet it’s difficult to reconcile, or believe the validity of such a claim, when economic reality appears so different. In particular, these figures cover a three month period between April and June … Continue reading Making sense of unemployment statistics →