Employment
The transition to work is one of the most significant changes in a young person’s life. There are significant inequalities in who has access to work and the types of work young people enter into. Data is available about numbers who are in education, training or Not in Employment, Education or Training, those starting and ending apprenticeships and about take up of benefits. Many areas will have local plans about increasing young people in education, work or training.
There is less data on young people’s employment at a local level than you might expect. Above age 17, most data is about unemployment, worklessness and benefits, rather than employment, hours or earnings. However, you can still find useful information, both from national statistics and from local strategies and reports. Local plans are available about supporting young people into work.
Key places to start
Local authorities report every year on how many 16-17 year-olds in their area are in employment, education or training, or Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET). You can download a spreadsheet showing this data for every local authority.
The Department for Work and Pensions has extremely detailed local data on benefits claimants. Find out how many 16-24 year-olds are claiming work-related benefits in your area, down to individual wards, by selecting the area you are in interested in and consulting the Out-of-Work Benefits tables.
Things to consider
Data focuses on unemployment and worklessness (in official statistics, “unemployment” is a technical term meaning out of work but looking and available for work, so it does not include people who aren’t able to work for health, caring or other reasons). Above age 17, local statistics only tell you about people who are claiming benefits, and may miss some of the most excluded young people - e.g. those who are not known to JobCentre Plus or who have No Recourse to Public Funds (individuals who are subject to immigration control can be excluded from claiming any benefits).
There is limited data on stability or quality of work (e.g. hours, earnings, contract status, progression).
Example
Halima wants to understand more about job prospects for young people in her community. The statistics for her local authority tell her that Asian / Asian British 16-17 year-olds are more likely to be in education and training than young people from other ethnic groups. However, when she compares local youth claimant counts, she can see that there tend to be more 18-24 year-olds claiming benefits in wards with larger South Asian communities. The figures can only give Halima part of the picture, although national data from 2019 also suggests that 18-24 year-olds from Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds are more likely to be NEET.
Other sources of information
Impetus PEF has published a series of reports on regional youth jobs gaps. There is a one-off report on the Office for National Statistics website giving statistics for 16-24 year-olds who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) by ethnicity, covering the years between 2017 and 2019.
Data sources
What this is:
Local authorities have statutory duties to identify and support all 16-18 year-olds who are Not In Education, Employment or Training (NEET). There is likely to be lots of useful data in their reports and strategies. Your local authority may have:
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A dedicated strategy to reduce the numbers of young people who are NEET
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A focus on education and employment as part of their wider strategy for Children and Young people
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A focus on education and employment as part of their strategies for specific groups of young people such as those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities or care-experienced young people
Youth employment may also be a focus of wider strategies for local employment, skills or economic regeneration and development.
Who it includes:
Data is available across the whole UK; the specific ages included varies by local authority.
Where it covers:
Local authority.
When updated:
Varies by local authority, but probably at least every 5 years
How to use:
The strategy for your local area may be available as a published report / pdf, or as a website-based interactive document. This may be a standalone document or part of the overall strategic plan for young people in the area.
It will generally be published on your Local Authority. Search for the name of your local area and “NEET” or search the local authority website for “NEET” or “employment”. Look for relevant strategies, reports or priorities on your local authority’s website.
Bear in mind:
Local authorities have access to a wide range of data, including specially commissioned research. However, it may not always be clear where the figures they use come from or how recent they are. If possible, check the references in the document as these may help you find the original data source.
What this is:
Most local authorities will have a local economic development or regeneration strategy or similar plan, setting out key challenges to the local economy as well as plans to tackle these. This plan can be a good source of data on poverty and inequality in your local area, as well as local employment and skills challenges.
Who it includes:
It will generally cover the whole local community.
Where it covers:
Local authority.
When updated:
Varies by local authority.
How to use:
The strategy for your local area may be available as a published report / pdf, or as a website-based interactive document. This may be a standalone document or part of the overall strategic plan for the area.
It will generally be published on your Local Authority or Combined Authority website. Search for the name of your local area and “Economic Development Strategy” or search the local authority website for “economy” or “growth”.
Bear in mind:
Local authorities have access to a wide range of data, including specially commissioned research. However, it may not always be clear where the data they use comes from or how recent it is. If possible, check the references in the document as these may help you find the original data source.
What this is:
The number of people aged 16-17 known to each local authority, and whether they are in employment, education or training, Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) or whether their status is not known. Extremely high-quality data was reported by each council.
Who it includes:
16-17 year-olds in England, breakdowns by age, gender, ethnicity, Special Educational Need / Disability (SEND) available.
Where it covers:
National, regional, local authority
When updated:
Annually.
How to use:
You can download an Excel spreadsheet with detailed figures for each local authority in England.
Bear in mind:
Only covers young people who completed Key Stage 4 in the year (the final two years of secondary school). Data on people aged 18 and over is only available at a regional level or via the local Youth Claimant Count.
Young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities typically continue in educational settings beyond Key Stage 4, so this data is unlikely to give you an accurate picture of their longer-term (post-18) outcomes.
See moreWhat this is:
An estimate of total number and % people aged 16-24 who are not in employment, education or training, based on the national Labour Force Survey. High-quality data from the Office of National Statistics.
Who it includes:
16-17 year-olds in England, breakdowns by age, gender, ethnicity, Special Educational Need / Disability (SEND) available.
Where it covers:
National and regional.
When updated:
Annually.
How to use:
Data is presented in a series of ready-made charts and tables.
Bear in mind:
This data is based on a national survey so regional figures and breakdowns by age and gender are estimates.
What this is:
Total number of 16-24 year-olds claiming Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance. High quality data based on JobCentre Plus reporting.
Who it includes:
16-24 year-olds in England and Wales, breakdowns by age available
Where it covers:
Parliamentary constituency, local authority, ward
When updated:
Monthly
How to use:
Local area profiles are available down to individual wards. Each profile contains a range of data, including population, employment and earnings as well as claimant counts. There is a built-in feature to compare local authorities with national and regional averages and other areas, although this is not available at ward level.
Bear in mind:
This only tells you about young people who are claiming benefits. It may miss some of the most excluded young people – those who are not known to JobCentre Plus as a result of homelessness or chaotic lives, or those with No Recourse to Public Funds.
What this is:
Figures on young people starting and completing apprenticeships. Extremely high quality data based on Education & Skills Funding Agency records.
Who it includes:
Breakdowns available by age, gender, ethnicity, Special Educational Need / Disability (SEND).
Where it covers:
National, regional, parliamentary constituency, local authority.
When updated:
Annually.
How to use:
The simplest way to access this data is to search for “apprenticeships” on the LGInform website. There are ready made reports on the numbers starting and completing apprenticeships by local authority, including young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
This data is taken from the Governments Education Statistics website where you can build a query that will show you figures for different ethnic groups as well.
Bear in mind:
This data does not tell you about longer-term employment outcomes. You can find out about local variations between different groups on the basis of gender, ethnicity and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, but not on the basis of qualifications or between smaller local areas.
What this is:
The DWP has made lots of very detailed statistics on different benefits available on their online Stat-Xplore tool.
Who it includes:
Benefits claimants, breakdowns by age, gender
Where it covers:
Parliamentary constituency, local authority, ward, lower super output area
When updated:
Monthly
How to use:
The tool will show you a list of all the different benefits and statistics - you can build queries for all of these.
Bear in mind:
This data tells you about benefits – including for example benefit sanctions - not about employment.
Stat-Xplore is designed for technical / experienced users, so you may need some time or help to find the data you’re looking for. To develop more complicated queries or reports, you will need to register for a login - this is free.
See more