Responding to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s spring statement, Dr Emily Andrews, Director of Policy and Research at Learning and Work Institute (L&W), said:
“The Chancellor did not make any policy announcements today, as she promised – but she said reform announcements were coming on youth employment. This is clearly one of the issues of greatest concern to her – much more so than the recent overall rise in the unemployment rate, which the OBR forecasts to peak in 2026 before falling back again by 2030.
“A significant package of measures on youth employment was announced last year. The latest statistics note that the number of NEET young people are high – at almost one in seven – but stable. However, the highest NEET rates are among 21-24-year olds, a cohort excluded from many of the Government’s existing Youth Guarantee measures. We continue to call on the Government to extend the Youth Guarantee to young people aged up to 24.”
Contact our press office