Latest education and unemployment statistics

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has published Education at a Glance.

The report states that the jobs gap in developed (OECD) countries between well educated young people and those who had left school early had continued to widen during the global economic crisis.

It also states that the UK had one of the lowest percentages of young people aged 16-19 in education among OECD countries. In 2011, young people aged 15-29 in the UK spend on average 2.3 years unemployed, compared with 1.7 years in Germany and 1.1 years in the Netherlands.

To download the report visit www.oecd.org/edu/eag2013%20%28eng%29--FINAL%2020%20June%202013.pdf.

The Department for Education has published Participation in Education, Training And Employment By 16-18 Year Olds In England, End 2012. The report provides provisional estimates of participation in education, training and employment and those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for 16 to 18-year-olds in England in 2012.

The report shows that:

  • 16-18 year olds in full-time education fell from 68.6 percent in 2011 to 67.2 percent in 2012. It said this was mainly driven by a large fall at age 18 (-4.3 percentage points), most of which was due to lower participation in higher education institutions.
  • Overall participation in education and work-based learning fell from 79.3 percent to 78.2 percent, the first fall since 2001
  • The proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET fell from 9.8 percent in 2011 to 9.6 percent in 2012.

To download the report visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-in-education-training-and-employment-by-16-to-18-year-olds-in-england-end-2012.

The Department for Education has published data showing what proportion of students in every state-funded mainstream school, college and local authority in England progressed to further or higher education, or went into employment or training.

The data shows that:

  • 56 percent of school leavers in London went on to attend a higher education institution, three percentage points ahead of the North West. The South West had the lowest proportion of young people entering higher education at 40 percent.
  • In the year after taking an A-level or equivalent, 62 percent of young people were in some form of sustained education with 48 percent at a higher education institution.

To download the data visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/destinations-of-key-stage-4-and-key-stage-5-pupils-2010-to-2011.

The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has published a statistical first release on Further Education & Skills: Learner Participation, Outcomes and Level of Highest Qualification Held.

The data shows that there were 360,200 Apprenticeship starts in the first nine months of 2012/13 (August 2012 to April 2013). Of the 360,200 starts this included 217,100 Intermediate Level, 137,800 Advanced Level and 5,300 Higher Apprenticeships.

To download the data visit www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current.