Since the pandemic, the UK economy has experienced rising levels of worklessness and has struggled to recover as strongly as other countries. Our labour market analysis highlights concerning trends, including increased worklessness across age groups linked to poor health. IES has examine the experiences of disadvantaged groups and the support they need not only to secure employment, but to progress and benefit from the advantages that good quality work provides.
Contact: Becci Newton & Rosie Gloster
Our work in this area
Unemployment and active labour market programmes
We have a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of unemployment, including the barriers people face trying to get a job and the ways in which employers select and recruit labour. We also have expertise going back over several decades in the evaluation of policy initiatives designed to help people find work. We have been involved in research on most of the main UK welfare-to-work schemes including the Work and Health Programme, IPSPC, the Work Programme, and ESA provision. We also lead work into the needs of specific groups including young adults and those with specific obstacles to work such as homelessness or an offending record.
Contact: Becci Newton
Providers, provision and commissioning
We also explore the role and impact of the key actors involved in delivery of national, regional and local employment support programmes including commissioned providers, such as through our ReAct action research programme, which supports continuous improvement. We lead work in regional and sub-regional areas to understand the effect of local economies and systems on the effects seen. Examples include our Plan for Jobs Evaluation.
Contact: Rosie Gloster
Inactivity and welfare reform
We have a long track record of researching the impact of in-work benefits as well as many other welfare initiatives, including the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance and the Permitted Work Rules that allow Incapacity Benefit customers to try part-time work before they commit to full-time employment.
We have also evaluated initiatives that are targeted towards non-traditional users of Jobcentre Plus services to get them closer to labour market participation including as part of the Youth Offer.
Contact: Becci Newton
Our work in this area
Commission on the Future of Employment Support
Plan for Jobs Cross-cutting Evaluation Wave 1 and 2 synthesis report
ReAct and Restart publications
Health-led Trials impact evaluation reports