ONLINE EVENT | 18.00-19.00, Thurs 29 January
Our Principal Analyst, @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social, is speaking about the realities of low pay, unpredictable hours and poor job protections at a @uniofbathipr.bsky.social event.
Register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rebecca-fl...
Today, the latest statistics from Office for National Statistics show a sluggish labour market, marked by growing unemployment and too few job opportunities.
@rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social explores the latest data in this article: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...
Yesterday, we welcomed the announcement of £820m to support young people into work.
But @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social warned of a risk the "Youth Guarantee will be too blunt an instrument" to support young people employment - featuring in this @BBCNews article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Quote of Rebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst, Work Foundation at Lancaster University “Today’s data shows that the number of young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment, or training remains stubbornly close to one million. "With unemployment across the labour market rising and vacancies having declined over the last 12 months, there is a serious risk more young people will slip into long-term worklessness without further Government intervention." Lancaster University logo Work Foundation logo
The latest release from the ONS showed that 946,000 young people aged 16-24 were not in education, employment or training.
Our Principal Analyst, @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social, commented on the latest stats. See full statement here: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...
Comment from our Principal Analyst
@rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the latest CPI inflation release from the ONS ⬇️
“The rate of CPI inflation has dropped to 3.6%. This could indicate we’re past the worst of the recent inflationary surge and may boost hopes of faster interest rate cuts. (1/5)
Graph showing unemployment at 5.0% in July - Sept 2025 - the highest for four years.
Graph showing levels of zero-hour contracts. The current level is 1.2 million, just below the record of 1.22m (April-Jun 2023).
The latest labour market statistics from the ONS indicate the UK jobs market is losing momentum as unemployment rises to a four year high.
@rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social explores the latest data in this article, including the rise of zero-hour contracts: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...
Read my blog on this month's labour market statistics for the @workfoundation.bsky.social
The Chancellor faces a clear test in the Autumn Budget.
Short-term welfare cuts won’t fix this.
It requires investment — in personalised employment support, and in good, secure jobs that help people stay in work long-term.
Because a labour market that relies on insecurity isn’t a resilient one.
Long-term unemployment is on the rise: a quarter (25.5%) of all jobseekers have now been looking for over a year — the highest since 2022.
Vacancies have stabilised at around 723,000, leaving 2.5 jobseekers per vacancy. For many, the door back into work is narrowing, not widening.
Unemployment rate between 2020 and 2015
This month’s labour market data shows a jobs market losing momentum.
Unemployment has risen to 5.0%, the highest since the pandemic, with 1.79 million people now looking for work.
But what’s most concerning isn’t inflow — it’s outflow. People are finding it harder to get back into work. 🧵
Today, @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social (Principal Analyst) responded to the latest zero-hour figures from @ONS:
"The number of people on zero-hour contracts continues its upward rise to near record levels. There are now 1.2 million people on zero-hour contracts, the second highest on record." (1/2)
Alongside a decrease in insecure work, the number of people who would obtain secure work would increase by 3.8m, with particularly young workers, Black and Asian workers and women benefiting.
Read the full analysis here: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...
This graph shows that if one day rights and guaranteed hours had been in place in 2023, an estimated 1.2 million fewer workers would have experienced severely insecure work. An estimated 3.85 million workers would have obtained secure employment
It's good to see the Commons have rejected the Lords' amendments that would seek to water down the one day rights provision and guaranteed hours for zero hour contract workers.
Expected impact 📊 Decrease severely insecure work by an estimated 1.2m workers.
By tackling contractual, financial, and rights-based insecurity together, local leaders and national policymakers can help reduce regional inequalities and build more stable, productive economies.
Read the full commentary here:
The analysis highlights a clear link between insecure work and weaker local economies.
Regions with higher levels of job insecurity tend to have higher unemployment and economic inactivity rates.
Addressing insecure work isn’t just about fairness — it’s good economic policy.
Insecure work is unevenly distributed.
It’s concentrated in sectors like hospitality, retail, social care, and administrative services — but patterns vary locally.
In some areas, hospitality roles are more secure, linked to higher value added and productivity.
Across England’s nine MCAs and Greater London, around 19.4% of workers are in severely insecure work.
That’s nearly 1 in 5 workers facing serious uncertainty about their income, hours, or protections.
I look at work insecurity using the @workfoundation.bsky.social three key dimensions:
1️⃣ Contractual insecurity — uncertainty about hours or future work
2️⃣ Financial insecurity — low or unpredictable pay
3️⃣ Lack of rights & protections.
Each of these matters for people and places.
📢 My new journal article is out today in Global Political Economy in a great collection edited by @jmchickson.bsky.social and @stellamorgana.bsky.social. I explore job insecurity across England’s mayoral combined authorities — and what this means for regional inequality and economic growth.
A🧵...
Join us next Tuesday to discuss the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill with @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social, @benrharrison.bsky.social, Shazia Ejaz from @recmembers.bsky.social, @katenightingale.bsky.social from @youngwomenstrust.bsky.social and Lord John Hendy from @ieruk.bsky.social.
Comment from our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the latest release of earnings data from the @ONS:
www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...
Comment from our Principal Analyst @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the latest CPI inflation release from the ONS ⬇️
“Cost of living pressures are persisting for workers and their families across the UK as inflation is at its joint highest level since January 2024 at 3.8%. (1/6)
A chart showing how regular wages are growing after taking account of inflation. The first few months of the period starting September 2023 showed relatively slow growth, but there was consistent growth between February 2024 and September 2024, meaning wages grew by 2.4% over the year. This latter period is in contrast to the period starting September 2024, where growth has hovered around zero. Between September 2023 and August 2024, wages grew 2.1%, but in the same period a year later, they grew just 0.2%.
We are still at near zero real earnings growth since Sept 2024, 11th month in row. We had a very small rise in earnings in August 2025 on previous month, leaving earnings up just 0.2% on Sept 2024.
Such a great piece from @tbij.bsky.social that highlights how difficult it is for workers to access and enforce their rights - it shows truly staggering figures of non-payment of tribunal awards by employers, and that's not even counting the personal cost to workers.
Very pleased to see my analysis of the impact on insecure work of two key reforms in the Employment Rights Bill covered by the Guardian today! Full report on the @workfoundation.bsky.social website (link in comment below).
Zero-hours contracts: peers accused of ‘trying to block stronger UK workers’ rights’
"Cutting disabled people's benefits won't magically create suitable jobs, particularly in those parts of the country that have long had weaker jobs markets. It's little wonder so many disable people are fearful of the impact of the government's cuts" - Abby Jitendra, Principal Policy Adviser
Ahead of a crucial vote on cuts to disability benefits, our new evidence casts doubt on whether jobs are even available for disabled people facing cuts 📢
The analysis found that the parts of the country among the hardest hit by the cuts have fewer job opportunities 1/3
In a weakening labour market, we need a safety net that supports—not penalises—those seeking secure, good quality work. The Chancellor must rethink cuts that hit the most vulnerable hardest.
Full article @workfoundation.bsky.social here: www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...
(6/6)
