Almost a million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training, as the jobless rate hits a four-year high of 4.8%. The number of jobs lost from company payrolls has reached about 100,000 in the past year, with the official unemployment rate rising from 4.1% a year earlier. More than 9 million working-age adults are now economically inactive, neither employed nor seeking work.
Underlying these headline figures are two troubling trends: a sharp rise in youth unemployment and increasing levels of ill health. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of 16- to 34-year-olds with work-limiting conditions surged by 77%, or 1.2 million, compared with a 32% rise among 50- to 64-year-olds. More than a quarter of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neet) are inactive due to disability or ill health, a figure that has more than doubled since 2005.
Former John Lewis chair Sir Charlie Mayfield is set to publish his Keep Britain Working review, commissioned by ministers last year, outlining recommendations for government and business to tackle rising worklessness. Mayfield said there is a 'tremendous opportunity to do better' in supporting people with health conditions and disabilities, particularly in mental health. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said the employment system is 'failing disabled people' and urged the government to act.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised a 'youth guarantee' to be detailed in the upcoming budget on 26 November, with investment in skills, training, apprenticeships and further education. The TUC has warned against cutting disability benefits and called for reforms to the Access to Work scheme and higher statutory sick pay. Getting more people into work could boost the economy by £69bn if the UK matched the lowest Neet rate among OECD countries.
Business leaders, however, say their capacity to do more is at breaking point after the last budget raised employer national insurance contributions by £25bn, alongside a higher living wage and elevated costs. They are pushing back against new government requests unless accompanied by tax breaks or subsidies.
