Please click here to see the June release of Youth Unemployment Statistics.

This paper presents the latest statistics on youth unemployment in the UK as well as comparisons with other EU countries.

There was a small increase in youth unemployment in the latest quarter as previously inactive young people returned to the labour market and a larger increase in the number of employed young people, with
youth employment increasing above pre-pandemic levels.

Recent trends in Youth Employment
After reaching a peak of 22.5% in 2011 following the 2008 financial crisis, youth unemployment rates fell
until the start of the pandemic to 12.3% in January to March 2020.

Youth unemployment did initially rise after the outbreak of the pandemic, with the youth unemployment rate reaching a high of 14.9% in July to September 2020. The levels of youth unemployment were 15% higher in that quarter than they were pre-pandemic.

Since then, youth unemployment has been steadily falling. There were 67,000 fewer unemployed young people in February to April 2023 compared to January to March 2020, a 13% fall. The youth unemployment rate has fallen from 12.3% to 10.9% during this period.