Action needed to support youth employment as labour market continues to cool

Responding to today’s ONS labour market figures, James Cockett, senior labour market economist for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, comments:

“The labour market is continuing to cool as vacancies continue to fall, reaching levels last seen in early 2015. The impact of the national insurance changes on employers’ costs is clear, with pronounced falls in employee numbers in hospitality and retail over the past year. 

“As employment costs increase, it’s critical that employers aren’t dissuaded from hiring young people. Industries like hospitality and retail provide meaningful job opportunities for young people at the beginning of their working lives. The government needs to go further than the youth guarantee and introduce an apprenticeship guarantee for all 16 to 24-year-olds, to provide valuable opportunities for young people to both learn and earn. Better training and employment opportunities will ensure they start their working lives on the right foot while helping employers build future talent pipelines. 

“Today’s figures also show that pay growth remains high, particularly in hospitality and retail, which have been disproportionately impacted by rises in national insurance and the minimum wage. But inflation is biting at real wage growth, which has reached its lowest level in two years.”