Event Details

Join the Work Foundation at Lancaster University as we unpack the latest labour market and inflation data from the ONS and explore what comes next.

As we approach the mid-point of the Parliament, the UK labour market continues to lose momentum. Unemployment has risen to 5.0%, while vacancies have fallen to their lowest level outside the pandemic for more than a decade, leaving around 2.5 jobseekers competing for every available role. At the same time, 2.8 million people remain out of the labour market due to long-term ill health.

Young people are facing particularly tough conditions. The number of starter jobs available to those taking their first steps into work has halved over the last decade, while the number of 16–24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has exceeded one million for the first time in 13 years.

Meanwhile, inflation remains above target and geopolitical instability continues to create uncertainty for households and businesses. Pay growth is slowing, raising concerns that progress on living standards could stall.

These trends pose a significant challenge to the Government's ambitions to grow the economy and raise living standards. As politicians prepare for party conference season, and Government looks ahead to the Budget, what does a cooling labour market mean for workers, employers and policymakers? And what can be done to prevent today's warning signs becoming tomorrow's crisis?