Precarious situations
Data on the UK regions with the most difficult economic circumstances for 25 to 29 year olds – measured by levels of unemployment, economic inactivity and lower working-class employment.
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Index of ‘precarious situations’, by region (UK, 2018 to 2021 combined)
41 regions in the UK are ranked from the lowest to highest composite scores. They are then divided into 5 equally-sized groups (‘quintiles’), from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). Areas with the highest scores have the most precarious situations for young people.
Data for
| Region | Index of ‘precarious situations’ | Quintile |
|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 0.30 | 3 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 0.33 | 3 |
| Cheshire | 0.24 | 2 |
| Cornwall and Isles of Scilly | 0.49 | 5 |
| Cumbria | 0.00 | 1 |
| Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire | 0.19 | 1 |
| Devon | 0.20 | 2 |
| Dorset and Somerset | 0.23 | 2 |
| East Anglia | 0.30 | 3 |
| East Wales | 0.00 | 1 |
| East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 0.16 | 1 |
| Eastern Scotland | 0.53 | 5 |
| Essex | 0.22 | 2 |
| Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area | 0.13 | 1 |
| Greater Manchester | 0.51 | 5 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 0.20 | 2 |
| Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire | 0.38 | 4 |
| Highlands and Islands | 0.46 | 4 |
| Inner London - East | 0.46 | 4 |
| Inner London - West | 0.51 | 5 |
| Kent | 0.27 | 2 |
| Lancashire | 0.36 | 4 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 0.22 | 2 |
| Lincolnshire | 0.28 | 3 |
| Merseyside | 0.55 | 5 |
| North Eastern Scotland | 0.36 | 3 |
| North Yorkshire | 0.00 | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | 0.48 | 5 |
| Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear | 0.84 | 5 |
| Outer London - East and North East | 0.24 | 2 |
| Outer London - South | 0.53 | 5 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 0.40 | 4 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 0.32 | 3 |
| South Yorkshire | 0.51 | 5 |
| Southern Scotland | 0.19 | 1 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 0.08 | 1 |
| Tees Valley and Durham | 0.29 | 3 |
| West Central Scotland | 0.43 | 4 |
| West Midlands | 0.36 | 4 |
| West Wales and The Valleys | 0.31 | 3 |
| West Yorkshire | 0.37 | 4 |
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Summary main findings
Young people brought up in densely-populated urban areas – including London – tend to have more difficult economic circumstances than young people in rural areas. This contrast shows the importance of looking within areas, as well as between areas.
London also has a high percentage of young people with promising prospects. This contrast shows the importance of looking within areas, as well as between areas.
Some areas – for example, Eastern Scotland – do worse for young people's prospects in obtaining higher qualifications, higher earnings and a professional job and for difficult economic circumstances.
About the data
This page combines data from the following 3 indicators into a single ‘composite’ score to give a more reliable picture of geographical mobility patterns:
- Economic inactivity – data on young people not in education or in employment
- Unemployment – data on young people not in employment
- Occupational level – data on young people in lower working class occupations
The data is adjusted for socio-economic background, so it measures how precarious the situations are of young people from similar social backgrounds.
Indicators are rescaled to make sure they use a common metric. The best-performing area’s score is set to 0, and the least well-performing area’s score is set to 1.
See the technical annex for more information on how each area was scored.
Data source
Labour Force Survey pooled, from 2018 to 2021.
Areas are those where respondents lived when they were aged 14 years.