Government policy harming young people, labour market figures show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Government policy harming young people, labour market figures show

Responding to the latest labour market statistics from the ONS, Professor Len Shackleton, Editorial and Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs said:

"The latest labour market figures continue to show the malign effects of recent government policy, with higher minimum wages and national insurance contributions plus rising business rates having a particular impact on retail and hospitality, where payrolled employment has fallen sharply. This in turn particularly hits young people who account for a sizeable chunk of the workforce in these sectors.

"Young graduates will also have been hit as traditional graduate recruiters have cut back due to growing uncertainty and possibly the longer-term impact of new uses of AI. The unemployment rate for all workers is 5.1%, markedly higher than in recent years (discounting the special circumstances of Covid), but for 18-24 year olds it is now standing at 13.7%. This is worrying not just for the current state of the economy, but because prolonged unemployment in one’s early twenties is known to have damaging effects on future career paths."

ENDS