Analysis and action on living standards
Entering employment, acquiring new skills and progressing up the pay ladder are important steps in many people’s lives, and essential for improving their living standards. But changes in the labour market, educational opportunities and the wider economy mean that different generations face different work and pay-related challenges, shifting across the life course.
Unemployment tends to rise rapidly in recessions, particularly for younger workers. But the unemployment increase was more muted than expected following the financial crisis, despite it being a much deeper downturn than the previous two. The data in this section demonstrates how unemployment rates have changed across time for different birth cohorts, and explores who felt the worst effects of the large unemployment increases of the early 1980s and early 1990s.
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‘All ages’ refers to those aged 16-64.
RF analysis of ONS, Annual Labour Force Survey (1975-91); ONS, Quarterly Labour Force Survey (1992-latest)
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