Updated 28 Septemeber 2012
Proportion of young people not in full-time education who are not in employment technical description
| Short title | Young people not in or full time education who are not in employment |
|---|---|
| Technical definition | The indicator is the proportion of 18-24 year olds not in full time education who are not in employment. Data is seasonally adjusted so quarterly comparisons can be made |
| Rationale | The indicator demonstrates the government's commitment to improving the proportion of young people engaged in a positive activity – employment, education or training. It recognises the importance of raising participation in education and improving labour market outcomes for those not in full time education and contributes to the Department’s Structural Reform Plan commitments on Get Britain Working (SRP2) and also a cross-governmental social mobility indicator. |
| Formula | This indicator is measured by dividing the number of 18-24 year olds who are not in employment or full-time education by the total number of 18-24 year olds who are not in full time education. This shows what proportion of the 18-24s not in full time education are also not in employment. Data is seasonally adjusted and therefore consecutive data periods can be compared. |
| Start date | The data is already published and is available on a comparable basis back to 1992. |
| Good performance | Generally a statistically significant decrease in the indicator will demonstrate an improvement in the labour market position of young people but external factors such as economic conditions will also need to be taken into account. There is no published data for the confidence intervals around the indicator. However, by looking at the variation in the raw data and by applying a design factor provided by the Office for National Statistics, it is estimated that the confidence interval for a single quarterly estimate of the indicator is +/- 1.4%. The confidence interval for a year-on-year change is wider, because it is based on two independent estimates and so subject to two “sources of uncertainty”. The confidence interval for a year on year change is approximately +/- 2%. |
| Behavioural impact | Minimal – indicator is not a target. |
| Comparability | Data is seasonally adjusted and available monthly on a rolling quarter basis. So comparable quarterly data is available each month. It is based on Labour Force Survey data which uses internationally agreed concepts and definitions, so is internationally comparable. |
| Collection frequency | Monthly. |
| Time lag | Six weeks after the reference quarter. |
| Data source (which data collection it comes from) | The Labour Force Survey published monthly by the Office for National Statistics in the Labour Market Statistics bulletin |
| Type of data (Whether it is an official statistic, national statistic, survey, MI ) | Survey |
| Robustness and data limitations | Analyses are National Statistics produced to the high professional standards. The quality of National Statistics products is assessed on a regular basis by the independent UK Statistics Authority. Along with other users, DWP are represented on groups that monitor the quality and relevance of the underlying data (Labour Force Survey Steering Group) and the related National Statistics outputs (Labour Market Statistics Theme Group). Although the data are seasonally adjusted, it is a more reliable indicator of performance to compare changes over the course of a year rather than quarter. There is no published data for the confidence intervals around the indicator. However the Department has estimated that the confidence interval for a single quarterly estimate of the indicator is approximately +/- 1.4%. The confidence interval for a year-on-year change is wider, because it is based on two independent estimates and so subject to two 'sources of uncertainty'. The confidence interval for a year-on-year change is approximately +/- 2%. The survey data is based on a random sample of 45,000 to 50,000 households, used for a wide range of National Statistics and is considered to provide robust estimates of labour market outcomes. |
| Collecting organisation | Office for National Statistics |
| Return format | Percentage |
| Geographical coverage | Only national data is published |
| How indicator can be broken down | Data is published by gender |
| Further guidance | Published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics Statistical Bulletin on the ONS website. Is available in excel format. |
