Labour Market Statistics for 16 to 24 year olds: Scotland and the United Kingdom – January to December 2022

About this publication

This publication contains the latest estimates of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity for 16 to 24 year olds. Estimates are for Scotland and the United Kingdom and cover the period January to December 2022. Data are sourced from the Annual Population Survey (APS); first released on 15 March 2023 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The APS combines results from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) with the English, Welsh and Scottish LFS boosts. This provides a larger annual sample of households. Compared with the quarterly LFS, the annual data is statistically more robust. Estimates for local areas and smaller populations (including those aged 16 to 24 years) are more accurate as a result.

The APS is the National Statistics source for labour market indicators by region and age. Compared to the APS, the LFS shows similar long-term labour market trends for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland. The ONS publish LFS estimates for 16 to 24 year olds as Official Statistics in their monthly publication.

In addition to the estimates in this publication, detailed tables on labour market statistics for 16 to 24 year olds are available on the Scottish Government website.

The population totals used for the latest APS estimates use projected growth rates from Real-Time Information data for UK, EU and non-EU populations based on 2021 patterns. The total population used for the APS therefore does not take into account any changes in migration, birth rates, death rates, and so on, since June 2021, so levels estimates may be under- or over-estimating the true values and should be used with caution. Estimates of rates will, however, be robust.

Important Note:

In July and September 2022, APS responses for periods April 2019 to March 2020 to July 2021 to June 2022 were reweighted using updated HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Real Time Information data. Estimates for January to December 2020 and January to December 2021 may differ from those published in the previous January to December edition of this publication. The ONS have written an article which provides further information on the reweighting exercise.

The UK Government and Scottish Government introduced policies in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these policies were still in place during the period of the latest APS estimates. The impact of these policies may be seen in the estimates.

Employees who were furloughed between April 2020 and the end of September 2021 were classed as employed, but temporarily away from work. This is consistent with labour market definitions outlined by ONS.

National Statistics Status

National Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value and it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards.

These statistics were reviewed, as part of a compliance check, against the Code of Practice in May 2021. This review found a range of positive features that demonstrate the trustworthiness, quality and value of this bulletin.

Since then we have made a number of improvements including:

• incorporating key findings; presenting the figures as “estimates” and including confidence intervals in the tables and providing more detailed information on quality assurance carried out while preparing the publication
• additional estimates have also been included for employment levels and rates for people aged 16 to 24 in local authorities