This IFS report investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the early careers of young people who recently entered the labour market.
There is substantial evidence from the UK and other countries that entering the labour market during a recession leads to persistent negative effects on employment and earnings. The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented labour market shock.
This report presents the first evidence on how the cohorts of young people who entered the labour market during the pandemic have fared up to now.
The onset of the pandemic led to a sharp fall in employment and hours worked across the population. This decline in work experience includes a collapse of apprenticeships - only 40% of the apprenticeships that were operating when the pandemic first hit continued as normal.
Given that apprenticeships provide a key pathway to well-paid jobs for those with lower academic qualifications, especially for boys from disadvantaged backgrounds, the disruption at the start of the pandemic could be expected to reduce opportunities for those who need them most.