Autumn Budget: IES comment
26 Nov 2025
Commenting on today's Budget, Naomi Clayton, Chief Executive at the Institute for Employment Studies said:
"Today’s Budget included a welcome focus on youth employment with investment in the Youth Guarantee, including the Jobs Guarantee scheme for 18-21-year-olds, and more support for SMEs to take on apprentices under the age of 25. Nearly a million 16-24-year-olds – 1 in 8 young people – are out of work and not in any form of education or training, and the government should aim to ensure that every young person can access the support they need. Meanwhile, the OBR assesses that the government’s new Pathways to Work support offer for disabled people and people with health conditions will only have a modest impact on employment, and there appears to be no plans to fast track this investment. With unemployment rising and health-related economic inactivity at a record high, it is critical that the government sets out more details on its plans, accelerates progress where it can and scales up what works."