Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsJob creation and lossesLabour marketMigrant workersRedundancy

Six in 10 staff removed from payrolls were under 25

by Ashleigh Webber 23 Mar 2021
by Ashleigh Webber 23 Mar 2021 Shutterstock
Shutterstock

The number of workers on company payrolls is climbing, but there were 693,000 fewer employees last month than in February 2020 – with under-25s bearing the brunt of job losses.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, around 68,000 more people were on PAYE payroll submissions to HM Revenue & Customs in February 2021 than the previous month.

Impact of Covid-19

Half of staff saw real earnings slashed last year

Numbers commuting to work goes up despite hybrid working plans

Pay awards set to remain at 2% in 2021

The unemployment rate also improved slightly, reducing from 5.1% to 5%.

However, the data – published a year since the country first went into lockdown – confirms that young people have borne the brunt of job losses.

The ONS found that 63.1% (437,000) of the jobs lost were held by people under 25 years old and a quarter (174,000) were held by those aged 25 to 34 years.

More than half (368,000) of the roles that have disappeared from payrolls can be attributed to the accommodation and food services sector and 17% (123,000) were in retail and wholesale – both sectors that traditionally employ younger workers.

Claims that vast swathes of non-UK workers have moved abroad were not corroborated by the ONS data. Less than 180,000 non-UK nationals have left company payrolls over the past year.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, ONS deputy chief executive Sam Beckett said: “We looked at this because there have been suggestions of very large numbers of non-UK workers leaving the UK. But our analysis of the payroll data… shows that this really isn’t the case.”

Around five million staff remained on furlough – down from the peak of nine million, but still up on the previous quarter.

Other findings include:

  • The average worker worked 29.9 hours per week in November 2020 to January 2021 – up 0.4 hours compared with August to October 2020
  • The redundancy rate fell to 11 per thousand in the three months to January 2021, down from 13.3 the previous quarter
  • In December 2020 to February 2021 there were an estimated 601,000 vacancies, 26.8% fewer than a year earlier.

Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market adviser for the CIPD, said: “Today’s figures confirm the fragility of the labour market and indicate that talk of a strong employment recovery is premature. It’s good news that redundancies continue to fall while the number of employees are increasing very modestly. However, there’s been a worrying rise in economic inactivity, which strengthens the need for more government intervention, particularly with the end of furlough in sight.

There’s been a worrying rise in economic inactivity, which strengthens the need for more government intervention, particularly with the end of furlough in sight” – Gerwyn Davies, CIPD

“[They] also lay bare the impact that the significant pandemic has had on young people, with the under 25s being particularly affected by the weak conditions in the labour market.”

Davies said the UK’s plan for economic recovery needs to involve support for young people, including jobs, apprenticeships, volunteering and work experience placements.

Recruitment and Employment Confederation chief executive Neil Carberry said: “These figures offer further evidence that the jobs market has weathered the 2021 lockdown better than feared.

“The economy is well-placed to bounce back as restrictions are lifted – but many people will need support transitioning into the new roles that emerge. Radical reform of the skills system – including the failed apprenticeship levy – will be vital.”

  Workforce planning opportunities on Personnel Today

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Browse more workforce planning jobs

 

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Government has ‘one shot’ at tackling disability employment barriers
next post
Whistleblowing protections to be reviewed amid dismissal claims

You may also like

Public sector needs 92,000 more workers to remain...

19 May 2025

Poundland jobs at risk as parent group seeks...

19 May 2025

Burberry puts 1,700 jobs at risk in cost-cutting...

14 May 2025

Microsoft to cut 3% of jobs worldwide

14 May 2025

Nissan to cut 15% of jobs globally

13 May 2025

Downturn in hiring activity eased in April

12 May 2025

UK-US trade deal threatens bioethanol jobs

12 May 2025

CIPD links Employment Rights Bill with low business...

12 May 2025

Jobs on the line across NHS trusts in...

9 May 2025

UK-US deal saves ‘thousands’ of jobs in car...

9 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+