This short paper summarises trends in unemployment rates and looks at how rates vary by ethnicity, age and gender.

New TUC report shows nearly twice as many older workers have left the labour market due to sickness and ill health (97,000) than those who have retired (50,000) during the pandemic

In its report published today the Public Accounts Committee says it supports the Department for Work and Pensions’ “intention of supporting young people into work at what was expected to be a downturn in employment opportunities” – but the £1.9 billion “emergency intervention” Kickstart scheme has supported far fewer young people than predicted, “early delivery was chaotic” and DWP “neglected to put in place basic management information that would be expected for a multi-billion-pound grant programme”.

These statistics relate to the employment of working-age disabled people in the UK. They provide context for the government’s goal to see one million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027, and its commitment to reduce the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people (known as the disability employment gap).

Reporting the ethnicity pay gap should be mandatory, and is the first step to addressing pay disparities between employees from different ethnic backgrounds, say a cross-party group of MPs.

Acas has published new advice today to help employers handle staff bereavement at work and understand an employee’s legal right to time off.