Dave Doogan on youth unemployment, 7 July 2026

The statement

Youth unemployment stood at 626,000 last year, so with this fabulous economy, why has it gone up by 109,000?

Dave Doogan, 7 July 2026. Source

What the sources report

• Office for National Statistics, series MGVF (LFS: Unemployed: UK: All: Aged 16-24: Thousands: SA), release of 2026-09-14 reports unemployed people aged 16 to 24, seasonally adjusted (Mar–May 2025): 642thousands^src
• Office for National Statistics, series MGVF (LFS: Unemployed: UK: All: Aged 16-24: Thousands: SA), release of 2026-09-14 reports unemployed people aged 16 to 24, seasonally adjusted (Mar–May 2026): 739thousands^src
• Office for National Statistics, series MGVF (LFS: Unemployed: UK: All: Aged 16-24: Thousands: SA), release of 2026-09-14 reports unemployed people aged 16 to 24, seasonally adjusted (Feb–Apr 2026): 743thousands^src
• Office for National Statistics, series MGVF reports unemployed people aged 16 to 24, seasonally adjusted (Apr–Jun 2026, latest): 715thousands^src

Notes

The ONS series now shows 642,000 unemployed people aged 16 to 24 in March to May 2025 and 739,000 in March to May 2026.

For February to April 2026, the latest period published when this was said, the series shows 743,000.

The latest figure is 751,000 for April to June 2026.