Labour Market Statistics for 16 to 24 year olds: Scotland and the United Kingdom - January to December 2024

Employment

In January to December 2024, an estimated 304,100 people aged 16 to 24 were in employment in Scotland. This is 5,300 less than the number of 16 to 24 year olds employed in 2023.

The estimated employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 54.8% in 2024. This was 1.2 percentage points (pp) lower than the year before (55.9%) and 3.1 pp lower than in 2019 (57.9%). January to December 2019 is the last data point in the January to December series before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the United Kingdom, the estimated employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 51.3% in 2024. This was 2.7 pp lower than a year ago (54.0%) and 2.8 pp lower than in 2019 (54.1%).

The change over the year and since 2019 for 16 to 24 year olds in the United Kingdom represent statistically significant changes. More details on statistical significance can be found in the Data and Methodology section.

Based on the current quality data rules and data confidence ratings we considered as part of our Quality Assessment of the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey and Annual Population Survey data for Scotland:

• the employment estimates for 16 to 24 year olds for both Scotland and the United Kingdom remain robust
• we have high confidence in the employment estimates for 16 to 24 year olds for both Scotland and the United Kingdom indicating the estimates can be used to draw accurate conclusions. There is substantial trust in the information presented, which is likely to provide a good reflection of reality

Chart 1: The employment rate for people aged 16 to 24 in Scotland has exceeded the United Kingdom rate in all years with the exception of 2020

Employment rate estimates for people aged 16 to 24, Scotland and the United Kingdom, January to December 2004 through to January to December 2024

Source: Annual Population Survey, January to December datasets, ONS

Shaded areas represent 95 percent confidence intervals.