The link to the Stakeholder toolkit has more information about the recruitment and how to download social media files to help publicise the opportunities available.
Read more here.
With the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on the horizon, the UK economy continues to face challenges.
Unemployment is rising (though so are wages), economic growth is sluggish, and inflation has been slow to fall, which means interest rates aren’t expected to fall any time soon. This doesn’t give the Chancellor much room to increase spending or cut taxes next month.
Since the end of coronavirus lockdowns, the labour market has been tight: unemployment has been low and job vacancies have been high, making finding a job easier and recruitment more difficult.
More recently, however, the labour market has loosened. Though labour market data for June to August was less reliable than usual, it showed a continuation of recent trends: there was a rise in both unemployment and economic inactivity, and a fall in employment.
The unemployment rate was 4.2% in June to August, up from 3.5% the year before.
The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish fresh forecasts alongside the Autumn Statement on 22 November, but the latest forecasts from the Bank of England predicted an unemployment rate of 4.5% at the end of 2024 and 4.8% at the end of 2025.
Read more here.
According to the Department for Education, in 2021/22 there were 45,940 care leavers in England now aged 17 to 21.
The Department for Education’s Keep on Caring policy paper (2016) said care leavers generally experience worse outcomes than their peers across a number of areas.
The National Audit Office’s report, Care leavers’ transition to adulthood (2015), identified poorer life outcomes for care leavers as a “longstanding problem” with a likely high public cost, including in mental health, employment, education, policing and justice services.
This briefing covers the UK Government’s policies to support care leavers in key areas. It primarily focuses on England but includes some information on devolved policies.
Read more here.
Note only experimental headline data this month.
Employment levels decreased by 82,000 in the last quarter but increased by 216,000 over the last year. They were slightly above pre-pandemic levels.
The UK unemployment rate was 4.2%, and 1.44 million people aged 16+ were unemployed.
Unemployment levels rose in the last quarter and the last year and were 69,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
8.73 million people aged 16-64 were economically inactive, and the inactivity rate was 20.9%. Inactivity levels rose by 74,000 from the previous quarter but fell by 274,000 in the last year. They were 279,000 above their pre-pandemic level.
The number of vacancies fell in the last quarter and over the year to 988,000 in July to September 2023, but remain 187,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
Read more here.
There were 527,000 young people aged 16 to 24 who were unemployed in June to August 2023, an increase of 45,000 from the previous quarter and an increase of 155,000 from a year before.
The unemployment rate (the proportion of the economically active population who are unemployed) for 16- to 24-year-olds was 12.5%. This is up from 11.4% in the previous quarter and from 9.0% from the year before.
The number who are economically inactive (not in or looking for work) increased by 30,000 compared to the previous quarter, though fell by 91,000 compared to the previous year.
The inactivity rate for young people was 38.4%, up from 38.2% in the previous quarter.
Read more here.
Other factors that are holding young people from having a dream job are money (35%), lack of self-confidence (32%), lack of experience (33%) and the increased cost of living (30%).
Overall, the younger generation is only planning for the short term, against the backdrop of economic uncertainty.
Sixty per cent of young people say they need to prioritise any job over their dream job now, and 40 per cent have changed their career plans in the past year.
More than half (57%) say they have lowered their long-term aspirations over the past two years, suggesting young people are having to become more pragmatic in what they prioritise when it comes to their working lives.
The cost of living (57%), the UK economy (44%) and their mental health (39%) are cited as having the biggest impact on young people’s futures.
Half of those surveyed say they are not planning beyond the next six months. When asked about their long-term life goals, maintaining good physical and mental health, and living happily were amongst the top answers.
Read more here.
The speech includes some of what is being done in Government to help our young people achieve their potential. Changing young people’s lives and giving them the best start in life.
Read more here.
Find our labour market indicators at local and unitary authority level for Great Britain.
You can find estimates of the number of people who are employed, unemployed and economically inactive in any local area. Try the tool.
Read more here.
Read more here.
The campaign aims to reach millions of people via video on demand, radio, and digital channels.
A range of free and easy-to-use resources will be provided to the adult social care sector to support employers filling in their vacancies.
People looking to make a genuine difference to people’s lives are being encouraged to join the adult social care workforce through a government recruitment campaign launching today.
The ‘Made with Care’ campaign is returning for a third year, with advertising promoting the wide range of opportunities available to people across England to build a career in adult social care and help people live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.
Running until the end of March 2024, campaign advertising will appear to millions across video on demand platforms such as ITVX, Sky Go and Channel 4; radio and digital audio channels such as Spotify and social media and digital channels like Facebook and Instagram, to direct job seekers to www.adultsocialcare.co.uk.
Read more here.