Unemployment rate in the UK 1992-2024, by age group
Approximately 13.4 percent of people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2024, the highest of any age group in that month. During this time period, older age groups have had much lower unemployment rates than younger ones, who have consistently had the highest unemployment rate. For almost all the age groups, the peak in the unemployment rate was recorded in 2011 when almost a quarter of young working age people were unemployed.
Why is youth unemployment so high?
There are several reasons for the disparity between young and old when examining the unemployment rate. Lack of experience may be an issue for potential employers, leaving young people in a catch-22 situation where they cannot find work due to not having had previous employment. Young people who have just left school are also not likely to have a job in place for when they leave the education system. This is reflected by the fact that the youth unemployment rate for 16 to 17-year-old's has consistently been far higher than those aged 18 to 24. As of the second quarter of 2023, the youth unemployment rate among UK regions was highest in East England, at 17.9 percent.
Uptick in unemployment in 2023, but still historically low
The overall labor market picture in 2022 was of a loose labor market, with very low unemployment and a high number of job vacancies. Although there has been a slight uptick in unemployment since Summer 2022, and job vacancies have also fallen, unemployment in 2023 was still very low compared with the early 2010s, and is not expected to rise significantly in the coming years. One indicator that has stood out since the COVID-19 pandemic has been the number of people economically inactive due to being on long-term sick leave, which reached 2.8 million in November 2023, and has been the main reason for economic inactivty in the UK since late 2021.