Most recent data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were 628,000 young people aged 16-24 who were unemployed in the three months to November 2024. This was an increase of 98,000 compared to the same period in 2023 lifting the youth unemployment rate from 12.4% to 14.5% (see key data). Correspondingly, the number of 16–24-year-olds employed was 40,000 fewer than the previous year to a rate of 50.4%, down from 51.8% in 2023.
The surge in youth unemployment has coincided with a rise – by 75,000 last year to 3.02 million – in young people recorded as economically inactive. The ONS point out that this is the highest recorded number since the current series began in 1992. Around 60% are in full-time education but the proportion not in education has risen to around 20% since the turn of the decade. A key factor is the number of young people that are economically inactive due to ill health, which has doubled to 250,000 since 2021. Within this group, there was a 24% rise in the number of young people unable to participate economically due to mental ill health.
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