A new study commissioned by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) provides insights into the experiences of UK Armed Forces veterans from ethnic minority backgrounds. Led by IER’s Gaby Atfield, the study uncovers significant disparities in employment, housing, and social integration, highlighting key areas where tailored support is needed.

The latest UK labour market data presents a mixed picture, with the employment rate showing modest improvement despite earlier indications of weakening demand. The unemployment rate has risen to 4.4%, continuing its upward trajectory, while the UK Claimant Count increased in February 2025. These suggest a persistent challenge of insufficient job creation, resulting in growing benefit dependency.

Dr Sangwoo Lee explores Understanding Society data to measure the multi-dimensional concept of job quality, and Graham Atwell revisits the implications of AI for the future of jobs.

Cedefop have released the latest update to their Skills Forecast data providing labour market projections at a pan-European level from 2022 to 2035. The project was led by Cambridge Econometrics with a consortium of European research organisations, including the IER, and individual country experts from across Europe.

Chris Warhurst, Jamelia Harris and Jeisson Cardenas Rubio of IER along with Strathclyde University colleague Pauline Anderson have published an article in a special issue of the European Journal of Workplace Innovation. Using data from Scotland, their article ‘A Just Transition? Green jobs, good jobs and labour market inclusivity in Scotland’ presents mixed findings.