The Work Foundation at Lancaster University responded to the labour market figures for October 2025 released by the Office for National Statistics. Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University commented:

“Today’s figures present serious challenges for Ministers hoping to ‘Get Britain Working’ and ‘Make Work Pay’ for workers across the UK.

“After a bruising first half of the year for the labour market, the competition to get into work continues to intensify, with more people now looking for work at a time when job openings are falling. Unemployment has risen by 297,000 on the year, and continues to creep upwards, now sitting at 4.8%. Meanwhile the number of job vacancies has fallen for the 39th consecutive period compared with the previous three months.

“The job market continues to be very challenging for younger workers. Over one in ten young people aged 18-24 year old (12%) are unemployed, with 112,000 stuck long-term unemployed for more than 12 months. This has risen by five percentage points on the year and provides a major concern for policymakers.

“Ministers must learn from previous attempts to tackle long-term youth unemployment and ensure they support – not sanction – young people into real, paid opportunities and give participants agency to make decisions that benefit their future careers and health.

“Real pay growth appears to be on borrowed time and has fallen to 0.6%, the lowest level in two years, as inflation continues to erode the impacts of wage rises. Despite historically strong wage growth at 4.7%, persistently high inflation, and in particular surging food prices, has left one in six workers (17%) reporting they struggle to pay their bills each month.

“Against this backdrop, the Chancellor faces a series of difficult choices in her forthcoming Budget statement. While the focus will be on fiscal headroom, the Chancellor must continue to prioritise boosting living standards and job opportunities in the years ahead.”