Unemployment Question Asked by Lord Chadlington To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of people under the age of 25 are unemployed. [HL502] Baroness Crawley The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. Letter from Jil Matheson, National Statistician, to Lord Chadlington, dated December 2009. As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of people under the age of 25 are unemployed. (HL 502) Estimates for unemployment are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). For the period July-September 2009 it was estimated that 12.8 percent of all persons under the age of 25 were unemployed. The rate of unemployment for people under the age of 25 as published in the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin is 19.8 percent. This estimate is based on the number of people who are unemployed divided by the number of people who are economically active, i.e. in employment or unemployed, in accordance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention. People aged 16 and over are classed as unemployed by the LFS if they are: without a job, want a job, and have actively sought work in the last four weeks; or, out of work, have found a job and are waiting to start it in the next two weeks. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Asked by Lord Chadlington To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who left university with a degree in 2008 are without a job. [HL503] To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who left university with a degree in 2009 are without a job. [HL504] The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green) Typically, new graduates take time to move into employment in the months after graduating, with more graduates out of work in the first few months after graduation. The most comprehensive data on outcomes is provided by the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey which looks at graduates six months after graduating. The table below gives a breakdown of full-and part-time first degree graduate destinations, for those who studied in the 2007-08 academic year six months after graduation ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total 2007-08 | |% with known destination| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |UK employment only |133,225|60% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Overseas employment only |5,360 |2% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Combination of employment and study|18,565 |8% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Further study only |34,520 |16% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Not available for employment |9,430 |4% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Assumed to be unemployed |17,990 |8% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Others |2,890 |1% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total of known destination |221,980|100% | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Unknown |71,280 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total |293,255| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: HESA Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey 2007-08 Figures rounded to the nearest five The equivalent data for 2008-09 graduates will be available in July 2010. For those who left university in 2009 we can use the Labour Force Survey to look at their initial outcomes in July—September 2009. The table below gives the latest BIS estimates of the number of 2009 UK-domiciled first degree leavers in different labour market activities. For comparison purposes data on 2007-08 graduates at the same stage are provided. --------------------------------------------------------- | |2008-09 graduates|2007-08 graduates| --------------------------------------------------------- |Employment |153,000 |177,000 | --------------------------------------------------------- |ILO unemployment |88,000 |71,000 | --------------------------------------------------------- |Economic inactivity|49,000 |61,000 | --------------------------------------------------------- Source: Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2009 & BIS internal estimates