Summary

What the indicators show: young adults

One in four 19-year-olds still fail to achieve a basic level of qualification and one in twelve have no qualifications at all.
Fewer girls fail to achieve a basic level of qualification than boys.
The proportion of 19- to 24-year-olds without a basic qualification is similar throughout the UK, except for Scotland (where it is lower).
Most of those who first acquire a level 2 qualification after the age of 17 have done so by the age of 19.
The proportion of young adults in the UK without basic qualifications is similar to the European Union average.

The lower a young adult's qualifications, the more likely they are to be lacking but wanting paid work. Even so, most young adults with no qualifications are in work.
The lower a young adult's qualifications, the more likely they are to be low paid. A majority of young adults with no qualifications are low paid.

One in eight 16- to 19-year-olds is not in education, employment or training, slightly higher than a decade ago.
The proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training is lower in Northern Ireland and the south of England (excluding London) than elsewhere.
More 16-year-old girls than boys continue in full-time education.
The proportion of White 16-year-olds who do not continue in full time education is higher than that for any ethnic minority, but many are undertaking some form of training.

The number of 18- to 20-year-olds found guilty of an indictable offence has been falling steadily and is now a quarter lower than in 1999.
Black young adults are three times as likely as white young adults to be in prison.

Young adults are much more likely to live in low income households than older working-age adults.
Unemployed young adults are less likely to be in a low income household than their older counterparts.

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds has been rising since 2004 and is now four times the rate for older workers.
The unemployment rate is somewhat higher for young men than for young women.
Unemployment rates for 16- to 24-year-olds in London are much higher than elsewhere.

In 2007, two-thirds of all employees aged 18 to 21 - both men and women - earned less than £7 per hour.
For those aged 18 to 21, the distribution of pay rates are similar for men and women.
Between the ages of 18 and 21, more than half of all full-time employees are paid less than £7 per hour. This is in sharp contrast to those aged 22 and over.
In most industrial sectors, at least half of all employees aged 16 to 24 are paid less than £7 per hour.
Half of all adults aged 16 to 24 earning less than £7 per hour work in wholesale, retail, hotels or restaurants.

The number of suicides amongst young adults aged 15 to 24 has almost halved since its peak in 1998.
Four-fifths of young adult suicides are males.
Young men from routine and manual backgrounds are twice as likely to commit suicide as those from intermediate backgrounds and three times as likely as those from professional and managerial backgrounds.

At 7%, the proportion of young adults using class A drugs is somewhat lower than a decade ago.

Poverty Indicators