The UK labour market has become more challenging for all jobseekers, with unemployment particularly high among young people and those with limited education and skills. Research published today by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation describes the difficulty of job searching for young people seeking low-skilled work, examining three contrasting local labour market areas in England and Wales.

The report was co-authored by Professor Becky Tunstall (University of York) and Professor Anne Green (IER), Ruth Lupton, Simon Watmough and Katie Bates (LSE).

The first round of auto-enrolment into a workplace pension starts today. First proposed by the 2005 Turner Commission report, auto enrolment is intended to help the half of employees who have no supplementary pension to save more for retirement. The rollout has attracted considerable media attention, much of it concentrating upon whether small savers will really benefit and how far the government is prepared to go with its proposal to develop a basic pension that is sufficiently high that such small savings are not means-tested away. IER’s Bernard Casey has recently published a paper on this subject - Voluntary Pension Saving for Old Age: Are the Objectives of Self-responsibility and Security Compatible?. The paper drew comparisons with Germany where policymakers are facing similar challenges (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00853.x/abstract - full content only available to subscribers).

IER has pioneered labour market assessment and forecasting work in the UK, and remains at the forefront of employment forecasting with an international reputation for the quality of its work.

The 100^th IER Bulletin summarises the findings of Working Futures 2010-2020, the fourth in a series of labour market assessments that provide detailed projections for the UK labour market. It focuses on a ten year horizon, giving a picture of the labour market for 2020; including employment prospects for industries, occupations, qualification levels, gender and employment status for the UK and for nations and English regions. The core purpose of Working Futures is to inform policy development and strategy around skills, careers and employment.

The wordle below illustrates the key words used in the Bulletin.

For further information on IER Forecasting, contact Rob Wilson (r.a.wilson@warwick.ac.uk; 02476 523530)

Bernard Casey is Chairing a session at a joint European Commission - World Bank Conference on Reforming Pension Systems in Europe and Central Asia, taking place in Brussels on 25-26 June 2012.

The conference aims to promote an open discussion about the challenges facing pension systems and the potential social, fiscal, financial, and macroeconomic implications of various reform measures to face the demographic challenges. It seeks to initiate and facilitate dialogue among governments and other interested parties on these important issues.

Bernard will chair the session on "Achievements of Pension Reform in the Last 20 Years".

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has today published three reports on Apprenticeships, co-authored by IER and IFF Research.

The reports detail findings from research undertake by IER and IFF using the Apprentice Learner Survey of 5,000 apprentices and provide evidence of the real value of apprenticeships.

• Employer investment in apprenticeships and workplace learning: the fifth net benefits of training to employers study

• Evaluation of apprenticeships: employers

• Evaluation of apprenticeships: learners