Signal Youth employment is falling as opportunity gaps among young people widen

Summary

The government reports that the youth employment rate in the second quarter of 2025 was 0.9 percentage points lower than a year earlier. It argues that low growth is shrinking opportunities for young people as a whole. At the same time the wealth of the parents' generation is said to shape outcomes such as their children's educational attainment. This widens gaps in opportunity among young people themselves, which the government links to lower employment and more young people who are simply resting outside the labour market. The government treats the youth situation as one face of the polarisation that narrows the base for growth.