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Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 835: 21st February 2026 | London Has the UK's Highest Unemployment Rate. Youth Unemployment at 5-Year High. Why Has the UK Got The Fastest Rising Unemployment rate in the G7?
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here's a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
The UK has the fastest annual increase in unemployment in the G7!
So the ONS labour market data dropped this week… and honestly, it's a week when the numbers are doing most of the talking. The Labour market data received a lot more attention than usual in mainstream media, but this didn't (and so close after Davos, I thought it would): according to the Work Foundation analysis of the latest ONS Labour market data, the UK has the fastest annual increase in unemployment in the G7!
Youth Unemployment at the highest rate in 5 years
Overall, unemployment is at 5.2%. Youth unemployment is now at 14%. That's one in seven young people. the highest rate for five years. The number of 18-24 year olds out of work has jumped by 80,000 on the quarter to 575,000. The UK claimant count is estimated at 1.691 million.
London's unemployment rate is now 7.6%
BusinessLDN highlighted that London has the highest regional unemployment rate of 7.6% up from 7.2% last quarter! The UK unemployment rate is 5.2%, so London, the capital city London... having an unemployment rate of 7.6%... and this is an increase from 7.2% on the previous data set, this surely has to be alarming (this isn't like a one off blip in the stats, London's unemployment rate is increasing compared to the national average)! The capital, with all of its opportunity, all of its connectivity, all of its investment… and young people there are still being left behind at a rate that should be making policymakers genuinely uncomfortable.
Next week, the NEET results are due! I suspect they won't make easy reading after this week's ONS overall labour market details. We already know they've been creeping toward a decade high… so watch this space.
Disabled people are now twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people
Outside of the overall labour market, really it's buried in the data... but is obviously massively important with all of reviews from DWP, but the data from ONS on disabled people and work ... I don't think it's getting nearly enough attention: as disabled people are now twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people. 9.2% versus 4.4%. If we look back to the driver of the Mayfield, Keep Britain working review (eg the annual £212 billion welfare bill due to economic inactivity due to ill health), not equipping disabled people into work, or helping employers, particularly SMEs better support disabled people back into work, isn't just the right thing to do, it also makes economic sense! The data is all around alarming from the latest ONS.
So no wonder we have loads of reviews at the moment across DWP... NEETs numbers are high (one in seven young people are NEET), London has the highest unemployment rate in the UK... disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed as non disabled, we are no where near the 80% employment target. That is bonkers!
Big Announcements Due Next Week
Let's see what the latest dedicated NEET data highlights next week! With the data from ONS, you can understand why we are kicking off a NEETs collective with Edge in the Summer! Something needs to be relooked and reset to come up with a solid plan of change and delivery.
There is also a lot of noise and anticipation that more details will be released on SEND really soon from Government... could this be next week? Talking about SEND. We announced that Professor Amanda Kirby is going to be the co-chair and co-report author for the upcoming Bridging the SEND Transition Collective with ETF in April. We'd love for you to join us on these collectives, tickets are going fast, so don't miss out (collectives are always limited on numbers to keep it intimate and give everyone a voice to shape the outcomes).
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Firstly, The Role of SME Apprenticeships in Combating Rising Youth Unemployment By Anna Ambrose, Chief Executive Officer of Workwhile
Secondly, Assessing Apprenticeships One Year On: A Stocktake From The AAO Perspective By Rob Nitsch, Chief Executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies
Finally, Why the UK’s Skills Agenda now Rests on Employer-Provider Collaboration By Al Bird, CEO at Instep
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
How to Seek and Analyse Feedback When Designing Apprenticeship Assessment By Jacqui Molkenthin from JEML Consulting
Beyond qualifications: How FE colleges are preparing students for life and work By Angela Joyce, CEO of Capital City College
Beyond APDR: Context, Impact and Action By Chris Quickfall, CEO of Cognassist
AI and Uncertainty Are Gnawing at the Edges of the Job Market By Andy Forbes, Executive Director of the Lifelong Education Institute
Transferable Qualities, Tutoring models and In-House Technologists: How my College Group Upskills Students to Help them Thrive By Gavin Barker, Assistant Principal of Teaching & Learning at Newcastle Stafford College Group
What’s New in the World of FE?
Annoucements
ONS Labour Market February 2026. UK Unemployment Rate is 5.2%. Youth Unemployment Is Now at 14% By Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Latest Labour Market Figures Show Disabled People Are Twice As Likely To Be Unemployed Than Non-disabled People (9.2% vs 4.4%) By The Work Foundation
Government Clamps Down on Independent Special School Fees with New National Price Bands By Department for Education (DfE)
Voices
Beyond the Classroom: Why Apprenticeship Design Must Be an Economic Strategy, Not Just a Curriculum By Chris Murgatroyd, Vice Principal Academic, USP College
In The Know
We have two Collective Intelligence events planned for 2026... aka Collectives
We have big plans for upcoming Collectives, and you can get involved. One is on SEND in April... and another on NEETs in June. We have learnt a lot from the Green Mindset Collective and we are drawing from this on how to give people more voice, more influence on the report... and to make the report more action focused (the Green Mindset Collective had a playbook for people to use, not just a dusty report that is never accessed, but something usable as a takeaway for the entire sector).
On 24th April 2026, at Tavistock Square in London, join us for the Bridging the SEND Transition Collective in partnership with ETF
Join us for the Breaking Barriers Collective event in partnership with Edge Foundation, working together collectively to solve the NEET puzzle.
These aren't conferences; these are collectives. These aren't lectures or chalk and talk, but interactive: it's rolling up your sleeves and making real change, where you get involved and actually give real input. These are two massively important Collectives, so join us and help shape the report and sector response!
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and | 