Labour Market Statistics for 16 to 24 year olds: Scotland and the United Kingdom - October 2022 to September 2023

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 October 2022 to September 2023. Data are sourced from the Annual Population Survey, first released on 13 December 2023 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS Annual Population Survey is the Accredited Official Statistics source for labour market indicators by region and age. Accredited Official Statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

Key points

The latest ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) data are for October 2022 to September 2023. The latest estimates for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland show the unemployment rate had increased over the year, the employment rate had decreased, and the economic inactivity rate had increased.

In Scotland in October 2022 to September 2023:

• the estimated employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 56.9 per cent
• the estimated unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 9.7 per cent
• the estimated economic inactivity rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 37.0 per cent

Compared with the previous year:

• the employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds decreased by 1.4 percentage points
• the unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds increased by 0.7 percentage points
• the inactivity rate for 16 to 24 year olds increased by 1.1 percentage points

Compared with the United Kingdom as a whole:

• the employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland was higher (56.9 per cent compared to 53.8 per cent)
• the unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland was lower (9.7 per cent compared to 10.8 per cent)
• the inactivity rate for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland was lower (37.0 per cent compared to 39.7 per cent)

Comparing men and women aged 16 to 24 years in Scotland:

• the estimated employment rate for men was lower than women (55.2 per cent compared to 58.7 per cent)
• the estimated unemployment rate for men was higher than women (11.1 per cent compared to 8.4 per cent)
• the estimated economic inactivity rate for men was higher than women (38.0 per cent compared to 36.0 per cent)

Estimates by local authority are not included in the commentary of this publication this quarter, although the etimates are updated in tables 8 and 9. This is due to increasing uncertainty around the survey estimates. While estimates remain robust at country and region level, an increasing number of estimates at local authority level are based on a small sample size which should be used with caution.