Productivity: Key Economic Indicators
Latest statistics showing changes in UK productivity and comparisons of UK productivity with other G7 countries.

This paper presents the latest statistics on youth unemployment in the UK as well as comparisons with other EU countries.
Youth unemployment statistics (970 KB , PDF)
438,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed in January-March 2022, down 28,000 from the previous quarter and down 105,000 from the year before. By historical standards, unemployment levels for young people remain low.
For context, it is worth noting that the total population aged 16-24 has been declining in recent years; in the year to January-March 2022, it decreased by 13,000.
The number of young people in employment increased by 18,000 from the previous quarter and increased by 277,000 from the previous year to 3.70 million.
The number who are economically inactive (not in or looking for work) rose by 19,000 from the previous quarter and fell by 186,000 from the previous year to 2.66 million.
The unemployment rate (the proportion of the economically active population who are unemployed) for 16-24 year olds was 10.6% in January-March 2022. This is down from 11.2% in the previous quarter and down from 13.7% a year before.
The inactivity rate for young people is 39.1%, down from 38.9% in the previous quarter. 77% of the young people who are economically inactive are in full-time education.
Impact of coronavirus (Covid-19)In the months following the start of the pandemic there was a large fall in employment levels for young people aged 16-24, and a large rise in the number of economic inactive young people. This was followed by a smaller rise in unemployment. Unemployment levels are now below pre-pandemic levels, but the number of young people in employment remains below and the number who are economically inactive remains above those levels. Comparing the latest quarter, January-March 2022, with the pre-pandemic quarter of January-March 2020:
At the end of the furlough scheme (30 September 2021) 98,900 jobs held by those aged 24 or under were on furlough, which was 3% of eligible jobs. The number of people aged 18-24 claiming unemployment related benefits more than doubled from March to May 2020, at the start of the pandemic. Since then, the youth claimant count has fallen, but the number of claimants in March 2022 was still 36,700 higher than in March 2020, an increase of 16%. Some of the initial increase will be due to employed people who became eligible for Universal Credit as part of the government response. More information can be found in the Library briefing Coronavirus: Impact on the labour market. |
Youth unemployment statistics (970 KB , PDF)
Latest statistics showing changes in UK productivity and comparisons of UK productivity with other G7 countries.
This briefing paper looks at the concept of financial inclusion. It examines different meanings of this concept and how it has developed in Government policy since the late 1990s.
Constituency-level data on child poverty