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Responding to the labour market stats release by ONS on 15 April 2025, Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of Learning and Work Institute said:
“The number of young people not in education, employment or training remains stubbornly stuck above 1.2 million. With our research showing three in five of these young people have never had a paid job, we must accelerate support for them to avoid long-term damage to their career prospects. More broadly, the labour market continues to slow, with vacancies now below pre-pandemic levels. Payroll employment is estimated to have fallen 78,000 in March, although these early estimates can be significantly revised.”
Dr Helen Gray, Chief Economist of Learning and Work Institute, said:
“The recent rise in redundancy notifications appears to be accelerating as vacancies continue to fall. Although other labour market indicators are fairly stable, the rate of economic inactivity remains higher than before the pandemic, while the employment rate is lower. Greater employer caution over hiring decisions is likely to exacerbate the slow pace of labour market recovery, making it difficult for the Government to achieve its ambition of an 80 per cent employment rate any time soon.”
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