It is known that poverty at any stage in life can lead to negative impacts.  It is therefore critical to scrutinise the data thoroughly to work out who is worst affected, determine how trends are changing over time and see what future prospects are.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has recently published a report looking at poverty at the start of 2022, nearly two years after the start of global pandemic. To an extent the full picture of UK poverty is unclear as official poverty data covering the pandemic period is not yet available, but many sources make it clear that while some groups have been well supported and face better prospects as we enter 2022, others face deep and persistent poverty. In some ways the position is much better than might be expected given the economic and social shock the country has been through.

While gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to recover to its pre-pandemic level by the start of 2022 and the rise in unemployment has been much smaller than the dire initial forecasts thanks largely to furlough, there have been changes to the taper rate to Universal Credit support for in-work families alongside the re-linking of housing support welfare to housing costs following a freeze in rates over several years.

Additionally, the £20 uplift to Universal Credit has now been withdrawn, while those on ‘legacy’ benefits (excluding Working Tax Credit) pre-dating Universal Credit received no increased support at all.

Families receiving these types of benefits have very high levels of poverty, with 43% of households in receipt of Universal Credit being food insecure. This has meant the basic rate of ‘out of work’ benefits is at its lowest for 30 years after adjusting for inflation, while in comparison, earnings have risen by more than a quarter over the same period.

Low-income households have less of a buffer against rising costs or any unexpected expenses, given they are less likely than other households to have savings.  In terms of how all this plays out for future poverty levels, it seems clear that out-of-work families will fare worse than low-income families in work. There is already a large existing gap in the latest data, with only 6% of working-age adults in families where all adults are in full-time work being in poverty compared with almost half of working-age adults in workless families.

Furthermore, within inflation predicted to increase sharply in 2022 there seems little prospect of reversing these trends as child poverty rose by 4% from 2012/13 to almost a third of children by 2019/20, while and rising pensioner poverty rose by 5% to almost a fifth of pensioners by 2019/20.

To see the summary findings of Joseph Rowntree Foundation report please click here.  The full report can also be accessed via this link: Full JRTF Report.

PwC, Unicef and Generation Unlimited have been working together to look at the challenges facing young people trying to start their careers and find employment.

Today, the world has 1.3bn young people who are trying to start out, find their way and make a life. But the harsh reality is that millions of these young people will find it hard to make a life for themselves because they will struggle to find work.

While the youth population has exploded by 30% in the last 20 years or so, the number in the labour force has actually decreased by approximately 12%. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it even tougher for young people to find a job.

When a young person wants to work but lacks the opportunity to do so, that is a tragedy both for the individual and for society. And one of the reasons that youth in every region struggle to find work is a mismatch between the skills they can offer and the skills employers need.

This is why UNICEF and PwC have partnered with Generation Unlimited to develop a practical road map to help young people understand what skills employers want, how to acquire those skills and get the certifications to prove it.  This is called ‘reaching YES’ (youth employment and skilling).

The aim is to work in partnerships with government, businesses, multilateral organisations and young people themselves to achieve this. Helping young people acquire the skills they need to succeed is not just an economic or business imperative; it is a social imperative too and helps young people to have a better quality, more rewarding career.

The work has global aspirations and is not just limited to the UK so to see the full report click here.

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) provides an insight into the needs of young people, both in education and as they start out in their careers.  The report also shows employers how to help young people understand their employment options, how to obtain the skills they need to enter the workplace and how to provide advice to ensure career aspirations are met.

The report is based on primary research with a survey of over 2,000 people aged 18 to 30.

Key findings of the UK report are: –

• The qualifications young people held are seen as more necessary to get jobs, than do jobs.
• Over half of those who attended university would have considered an apprenticeship as an alternative route, but only 1% said they received help at school to apply for one.
• Only a fifth of young people rated the careers guidance given at school or college as high quality and said that not enough time was spent helping them understand career pathways or options.
• Only half of young people surveyed received a face-to-face careers guidance interview at school.
• Whilst most young people took part in work experience at school or college, over a quarter rated it as low quality.
• Paid work during education is seen as beneficial for developing employability skills.
• Only just over half of people surveyed are satisfied with their main job, with the lowest rates of satisfaction being in wholesale and retail and the highest being in education and healthcare.
• Those that said their career progression had failed to meet their expectations reported poor quality line management and lack of effective training programmes as the main factors holding them back.
• Over two-fifths of young people believe the pandemic has harmed their long-term career prospects.

Key recommendations: –

The CIPD is calling for:

• The Government to increase funding for careers advice, so that every young person is guaranteed at least one face-to-face interview with a qualified career guidance professional by the age of 16.
• Careers advice in schools and colleges to give equal focus to vocational and academic routes into employment.
• Employers to collaborate with local schools and colleges to ensure young people understand and are equipped with the skills that businesses need, so they are ready to join the workforce when they leave education.
• More senior professionals from all sectors to volunteer for the Enterprise Advisers programme in England, run by The Careers & Enterprise Company.  It matches individuals with a school to help them develop a careers advice strategy and connect them with local employers.

To see the full report and additional commentary from the CIPD, click here.

A new report from the Youth Futures Foundation titled ‘The Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Youth Employment: An Evidence and Gap Map’ has recently been published.

The report has found that youth unemployment and low pay are persistent problems across the world. Young people are more likely to be unemployed, and they have been hit harder by the Covid-shock than others.  Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be unemployed than those from better off backgrounds and be paid lower wages in adulthood, especially among ethnic minority groups.

Key findings of the report include:

• Young people typically experience higher rates of unemployment than adults. From the years 2016-2019 overall unemployment in the UK for those aged 16-64 averaged 4.4%. It was over five times that, at 24.1%, for those aged 16-17, and more than double the average, at 10.8%, for 18–24-year-olds (Figure 1). In May 2021 unemployment for those aged 18-24 stood at 11.6%.
• Youth unemployment is concentrated in groups from marginalised backgrounds, including some ethnic minorities in England. Wide disparities in youth employment exist according to ethnic group and other measures of difference and disadvantage. In London, unemployment for young Black British people over the three years to March 2020 stood at 29%, more than double that for young White British people at 13%.

Data from 2019 for the whole of the UK showed that unemployment among ethnic groups other than White British (aged 16-24) stood at 19%, nearly double that for White British young people, at 10%.  These disparities continue to persist into adulthood.

• Education is one route to employment and higher wages, but it is not always sufficient. Gaining a higher level of education tends to translate into better employment outcomes for most young people. Across the UK, in 2019, unemployment for those with tertiary education was 2.1%, compared to 2.8% for those with secondary education and 4.9% for those who had not completed secondary.

A recent analysis of wage disparities for those from disadvantaged backgrounds finds that education accounts for 80% of the wage gap with those from more advantaged backgrounds. The impact of Covid has also varied by education. Working hours for young people without qualifications fell by over one-third (34%) compared with just 7% for those with a degree or equivalent qualification.

But education is not always sufficient, particularly in areas of low opportunity.  In areas where administrative and managerial jobs are scarce the opportunities for advancement are few. In such areas education may not help.

To see the full Youth Futures Foundation report click here.