Employment experts call for £1 billion Youth Guarantee and urgent investment in education and back-to-work support. The Government needs to act now to tackle the fastest spike in unemployment on record or risk permanent damage to our economy and people’s livelihoods.

Government must urgently reform the apprenticeship levy and provide additional funding to prevent the loss of up to 75,000 apprenticeships at SMEs. New data uncovered by Learning and Work Institute shows the assumptions that underpinned the apprenticeship levy are flawed.

One million young people could be locked out of education, employment and training as a result of the pandemic, compounding previous shortfalls in education and employment support, a new Learning and Work Institute report finds.

The employment rate remains important, but we should also look at total hours worked, the number of people temporarily away from work, and the timelier HMRC measure of payroll employment.