Unemployment rates by age group

Last updated: June 2024
Next estimated update: September 2024

What does this indicator show?

This indicator shows the unemployment rate* in London and the rest of England split by age groups. We can use it to see how the unemployment rate among young people (16-24) compares to those aged 25-64 and those aged 65+.

What does it tell us?

Unemployment is much higher among young Londoners than other age groups. It’s also significantly higher than among young people in the rest of England. 

The unemployment rate is 14.6% for young Londoners. Although this is lower than its peak during the COVID years (18.5%), it’s significantly higher than among those aged 25-64 (4.2%). Those aged 25-64 also appear to have been less impacted by the COVID pandemic - they saw a small increase from  3.5% in 2019 to 4.8% in 2020. However, other labour market factors, e.g., the impact of furlough, should also be considered to fully capture the economic impact of the pandemic.

Unemployment for people aged 65 and over was comparable to people aged 25–64 for the most recently available data (low survey response numbers mean we can’t report for 2022 or 2023). However, relatively few in this group are either in work or seeking work, as the majority are retired.

Unemployment rates among the working age population (16-64) are higher in London than in the rest of England, which has been true for the whole time period covered by this indicator. 

*The unemployment rate is the percentage of the economically active population (adults who are not retired, studying, looking after the home, long-term sick etc.) who are either without a job, have been actively seeking work in the past four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks or are out of work but have found a job and are waiting to start in the next two weeks.