19 October 2025
IFS analyses Government guarantee for young people on Universal Credit
The Chancellor, Rachel reeves, has announced a guarantee to provide paid work to every young person who has been receiving Universal Credit for 18 months without being in education or employment. It is also reported that should those young people refuse such work they could face sanctions.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies have examined past policies to increase employment among unemployed young people and found that they are among the hardest groups of people to engage and change behaviour. Yet, early unemployment can have a lasting negative on young people throughout their careers, so action is clearly needed to support them.
Of the nearly one million 16-to-24-year-olds who are NEET, only around 100,000 meet the criteria targeted by the policy. Analysis of over 200 past employment programmes suggests that only around 5% of those taking part are in employment after two years. The Kickstart programme for young people resulted in around 10% getting into sustained employment.
It found the programmes that were most effective combined a work placement with training or education.
Read the full analysis from IFS.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies have examined past policies to increase employment among unemployed young people and found that they are among the hardest groups of people to engage and change behaviour. Yet, early unemployment can have a lasting negative on young people throughout their careers, so action is clearly needed to support them.
Of the nearly one million 16-to-24-year-olds who are NEET, only around 100,000 meet the criteria targeted by the policy. Analysis of over 200 past employment programmes suggests that only around 5% of those taking part are in employment after two years. The Kickstart programme for young people resulted in around 10% getting into sustained employment.
It found the programmes that were most effective combined a work placement with training or education.
Read the full analysis from IFS.
0 Comments