UK Youth Employment Crisis: A Lost Generation?

😬 According to a report in The Independent an unemployment tsunami is heading for older workers... I don't like this kind of scaremongering but it does reflect what I've been seeing in the job market over the past 6 months. It's definitely harder for the over 50s to get a job, especially women. What can you do? ✅️ Create multiple income streams, eg training, coaching, books, speaking engagements, start a business ✅️ Think about retraining in a high-demand sector/skill ✅️ Start building up a network of potential clients and a consulting business ✅️ Join a community of people doing what you want to do to get ideas and see what's working Don't panic and jump into something that's not right for you because it might be well paid. Test the waters, check demand, use sites like Answer the Public and Google Trends to find out what problems/solutions people are searching for. Do you have a plan B? 🤔 https://lnkd.in/dQd8gJXH

Towards Greater Employment Inclusion for Older Workers in the UK. In 2025, the employment rate for people aged 55–64 in the UK reached 71.3%, up from around 67% in 2020. This steady rise reflects a shift in workplace culture: more employers are recognising the value of experience and the importance of age-diverse teams. However, regional disparities remain. In the South East and East of England, employment rates for older workers exceed 75%, while in the North East and parts of Wales, they hover closer to 63%. These gaps highlight the need for targeted policies around reskilling, flexible work, and age-friendly recruitment. As demographic pressures grow and labour shortages persist, integrating older professionals into the workforce is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic imperative. #employment #olderworkers #inclusion #UKlabourmarket #diversity #HR #regionalinequality #lifelonglearning #ageinclusion #workforceplanning #skillsstrategy #economicpolicy

I just read the latest 'State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England' report from Skills for Care, and it shares some significant findings. Our sector's contribution to the UK economy grew by a remarkable 12.2%, now totalling £77.8 billion! This growth reflects improved workforce capacity and better pay, largely due to the increase in the National Living Wage. However, the report also sheds light on ongoing challenges. While we've seen a decrease in vacancy rates to 7% and an increase in posts by 2.2%, the struggle to recruit domestically remains. British workers in our sector declined by 30,000, even as international recruits dropped to 50,000 from 105,000 the previous year. Even more eye-opening, qualifications among the workforce are declining. Only 38% of care workers now have a Level 2 qualification, down from 41% last year. This is a concern as care roles grow more complex. Professor Oonagh Smyth of Skills for Care rightly points out that while these improvements are encouraging, we need to focus more on sustainable domestic recruitment and workforce development. We must ensure we're not just filling posts, but also equipping our staff with the necessary skills and qualifications to meet the growing and evolving needs of those we care for. Interested in joining a thriving sector? Visit vrecruitment.co.uk to learn more about the opportunities available. #socialcare #recruitment #workforcedevelopment #vetro #vetrorecruitment

Some signs that working women depended on immigrants to participate in the workforce "An estimated 455,000 women left the workforce between January and August this year, a period when the overall labor force has held relatively steady, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. Only the pandemic saw a larger exodus for that period, according to BLS records that go back to 1948." They Are Hunting Us:’ D.C. Child Care Workers Go Underground Amid ICE Crackdown The costs are increasing for working women: "A first-time mother left the job she loved because the cost for three-day-a-week child care surpassed that of the monthly mortgage." There’s the biggie: Child care and early education costs continue to rise. Some operators within that industry are in “grim, financial binds,” University of California-Berkeley researchers have found. Low funding and poor pay has contributed to worker shortages (now further exacerbated by immigration reductions) as well as “child care deserts.” The cost burden is pushed instead to families, who often find the prospects too pricey. https://lnkd.in/dEngXNxp

💼 European Parliament: Closing the Gender Pay & Pension Gap is a Top Priority! 👩💼👨💼 Gender inequalities in pay and pensions are still a huge challenge in the EU. In 2023: 💰 Gender pay gap: 12% (up to 18% in some countries) 📉 Pension gap: 25.4%, leaving older women more at risk of poverty The European Parliament is calling for concrete measures: ✅ Pay transparency & annual monitoring ✅ Flexible work arrangements & parental leave ✅ Fair wages and clear career paths in female-dominated sectors ✅ Pension credits for career breaks and inclusion of part-time workers Bridging the gender gap isn’t just a matter of fairness – it’s smart economics! Closing the employment gap could boost EU GDP per capita by 3-5.5% by 2050. 🚀 #SocialDialogue #genderequality #genderpaygap #sd4eu Malta Federation of Professional Associations UNPLIB The European Council of the Liberal Professions (CEPLIS) UNAPL Eurocadres EQUAL Ireland Confprofessioni UILtuCS

The UK’s workforce is changing, but not evenly. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that while overall unemployment sits at 4.8%, the experience of work varies dramatically by age. - Youth unemployment remains nearly three times the national average. - Mid-career workers face new pressures from automation and skills shifts. - Employment among the over-65s is rising. This week, we’ll explore what these figures mean for age diversity, inclusion, and the future of work, and how organisations can turn demographic change into strategic opportunity. Stay tuned for our latest analysis, “Understanding the Age Divide” to be released on Thursday! #AgeDiversity #FutureOfWork #Inclusion #Employment #ONS #LabourMarket

Return to Work / Return to Lower Pay for Women Women's pay is falling behind men's, with the widest pay gap since 2016, as women made 81 cents on the dollar compared to men last year. Economists attribute this to the return-to-office push, which prompts women to quit, decline promotions, or opt for lower-paying jobs with more flexibility due to household responsibilities and childcare. A recent study shows women are nearly three times more likely to leave tech or finance jobs with return-to-office mandates, often accepting lower-ranking positions.

Extract-Economics viewpoint A million young people aren’t in a job or training. Britain has a problem Richard Partington This week the government will respond. Sir Charlie Mayfield, a former chair of John Lewis , is expected to publish his Keep Britain Working review, outlining his recommendations for the government and business to do more to tackle rising levels of worklessness. Commissioned by ministers last year, Mayfield believes businesses must do significantly more to help people with work-limiting health conditions and those with disabilities. Support for mental health in particular is key. “This issue is a nasty one,” Mayfield told me recently at Labour’s party conference in Liverpool. “There is a tremendous opportunity to do better. “It is absolutely huge in the context of what it means for those people individually, in terms of what it means for the productive capacity that is not then available to the economy, and therefore the implications that has for growth.” As many as one in five working-age adults across the country are either not in employment or currently seeking a job, a position statisticians describe as “economically inactive”. For almost 3 million, the main reason is long-term ill-health, which is near to its highest level on record. Most of the increase has been down to the health of young people. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of people with work-limiting conditions rose by 900,000, or 32%, for 50- to 64-year-olds. For those aged 16 to 34, the rise was 1.2 million, or 77%. More than a quarter of 16- 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) are inactive because of disability and ill-health, according to the Resolution Foundation. That figure has more than doubled since 2005…. But employers refusing to do more to help them would be massively short-termist. Without support, the rise in people standing outside the jobs market will deprive business of potential employees and customers; unemployment would rise further, the economy would suffer, and the public finances would deteriorate. Nobody wins. “Investment in employee health and wellbeing should not be a burden,” Mayfield told me in Liverpool. “It actually should be something that is both increasingly necessary and also highly returning for employers. “What we have to figure out is, how do we create the circumstances where more employers both feel and experience that?” Businesses might well be under pressure. But equally they cannot opt out either, and say: “Nothing to do with us.” We live in a society where we are all connected. https://lnkd.in/e9yF5_bE

🎙️ While on The Family Spectrum at Capital FM yesterday, I raised an important yet often controversial subject: WOMEN SHOULD BE REMUNERATED FOR DOMESTIC LABOUR. For generations, women have carried the invisible weight of unpaid care and household work ,cooking, cleaning, childcare, elder care, and managing homes. These are the same functions that sustain economies, shape societies, and nurture human capital. Yet, because they take place in the private sphere, this labour is often seen as “natural” and therefore unworthy of economic recognition. When we fail to account for domestic work, we distort our understanding of productivity and contribution. Women’s unpaid labour is a silent subsidy to both households and the broader economy, it fills the gaps where state and market services fall short. Recognizing and remunerating it is not merely about paying for chores; it’s about restoring justice and redefining value in our economic systems. This conversation is NOT about replacing love or care with a price tag. It’s about acknowledging that love and labour CAN coexist, that the hours women pour into their homes are a form of social and economic investment. To ignore that is to continue perpetuating gender inequality at the very heart of our societies. So yes, I believe women should be compensated for domestic labour ,whether through social protection schemes, caregiver allowances, or even tax credits. Because until we count what women contribute, we will continue to undervalue what keeps our world running. #GenderEquality #CareEconomy #EconomicJustice #WomenEmpowerment #SocialPolicy