Employment Schemes: Young People

(asked on 8th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to help young people into employment as part of the economic recovery from the covid-19 pandemic in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.


Answered by
Steve Barclay Portrait
Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This question was answered on 13th September 2021

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has protected the jobs and livelihoods of young people across England: as of the end of July 2021, 158,800 jobs held by those aged 24 or under were on furlough. In the West Midlands, 14,310 jobs held by under 25 year olds were protected by the CJRS, of which 820 were in Coventry.

The youth unemployment rate (16-24 year olds ) has also decreased in recent months, to 13.1% in April-June 2021, down from a post-Covid peak of 14.8% in Q3 2020. In the West Midlands, youth unemployment has dropped from a Covid-19 peak of 19.1% in November-January 2021 to 14.4% in April-June 2021.

In addition to the CJRS protecting jobs, the government’s Plan for Jobs provides a range of support to help young people into work. The £2 billion Kickstart Scheme provides young people at risk of long-term unemployment with fully-subsidised jobs to give them experience and skills. All young people on Universal Credit will also benefit from an expanded Youth Offer, which provides extra support as they search for work.

This is available to young people across Great Britain, including the West Midlands, Coventry, and Coventry North East constituency. As of 31st August, 5,670 Kickstart jobs have been started by young people in the West Midlands.

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