Closing post
Time to recap.
City investors are more confident that the Bank of England will cut interest rates next month, after UK unemployment hit a near-five year high and wage growth slowed.
The money market indicate there is a 75% chance that the BoE cuts interest rates to 3.5% at its March meeting, with many economists predicting a cut.
The chances increased after the Office for National Statistics reported that the UK unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in the final quarter of 2025.
Wage growth also slowed, which could calm concerns about inflationary pressures at the BoE. The pound has dropped by a whole cent against the US dollar to $1.3512.
The youth unemployment rate hit 14%, the highest rate in five years – or nearly 11 years excluding the pandemic – prompting calls for government action to help young people into work.
Robert Salter, a director at auditors Blick Rothenberg, has warned that youth unemployment will increase significantly in the coming months, saying:
“The UK has a significant number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs). Wider problems in the job market are likely to make this worse with millions of school leavers and new graduates scheduled to enter the labour market in the coming months.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for a ‘Covid-style mobilisation’ to tackle the UK’s youth unemployment crisis, saying:
“Young people have been betrayed by a generation of politicians who have ignored their concerns, sidelined their interests, and sold off their futures.
“Far too many young people are stuck – living with their parents because rents are too high, saddled with tens of thousands of pounds of student debt, and unable to get a decent job so they can start their lives.
“We need a mobilisation on the scale of the COVID response to tackle this crisis and get young people’s lives back on track before we see an entire generation lost to long-term unemployment.”
Here’s the full story:
And here’s our analysis:
"Youth unemployment will increase significantly in the coming months"
Youth unemployment will increase significantly in the coming months, audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg has warned.
Blick Rothenberg fear that graduates and school leavers face a bleak job market, and that the UK’s unemployment rate once school and university finishers enter the labour market this summer.
Robert Salter, a director at Blick Rothenberg, says:
“The UK has a significant number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs). Wider problems in the job market are likely to make this worse with millions of school leavers and new graduates scheduled to enter the labour market in the coming months.”
“Over 15% of all 16 to 24-year-olds are now NEETs. The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that the job market is becoming increasingly difficult for all job seekers, with unemployment for December 2025 rising to 5.2%, up from a rate of 4.4% when the Government came to power in July 2024.”
“An estimated 900,000 students are expected to graduate from universities and colleges over the next few months, while many more 16–18-year-olds will also be looking for their first jobs at the same time. The ONS statistics paint a bleak picture for their ability to find and retain employment.”
