The government’s priorities – economic growth, lower inactivity and better opportunities for young people – will help. Ministers should implement Charlie Mayfield’s recommendations as quickly as possible and set out more clearly how they'll deliver a Youth Guarantee for work.

Progress in tackling economic inactivity has stalled. The UK has a long-standing problem of too many people being unable to access work. People with long-term illnesses are particularly affected and youth inactivity is now a growing problem.

Pay growth is slowing and private sector pay growth fell to its lowest level since October 2020. With inflation flat and growth sluggish, the Bank should cut rates to support the labour market and wider economy.

Business hiring is settling to more "normal" levels after the sharp jump in demand post-Covid. As demand settles, the effects are showing up in the falling employment and rising unemployment rates. Policy decisions are also important, but we shouldn't miss this wider context.

We’ll find out more about how departments will deliver on the government's promise of “good jobs” in practice when they publish sectoral Workforce Strategies - starting with the Office for Clean Energy Jobs' strategy later this summer

At first glance, the other sector plans – for advanced manufacturing, creative industries, digital and technologies, and professional business services – have less to say about how departments will create “good jobs” in practice, beyond existing commitments on skills

DESNZ’s intentions are encouraging, including:
➡️ Working with trade unions to ensure clean energy jobs are high-quality
➡️ Exploring how to introduce job quality measures in the Clean Industry Bonus

Looking at sector-specific plans, the Energy Secretary’s commitment to create “a new generation of good, industrial jobs with strong trade union representation” is particularly welcome

➡️A “Lifelong Learning Entitlement” from Jan 2027 – particularly significant in the context of the need to deliver a fair transition for workers in carbon-intensive sectors

Here are some of the most eye-catching:
➡️£275m for technical training and apprenticeships – a welcome injection of cash, although spread over the rest of the Parliament, this is relatively modest
➡️A commitment to £1.2bn additional investment in skills per year by 2028-29

Having the skills to secure these jobs is also vital. Many young people are not developing tertiary skills, and many workers are trapped in insecure, low-quality work

The government clearly understands the importance of skills – and the commitments listed in the white paper are welcome

Who is able to access these jobs matters. Geography – where new jobs are located – is part of the story

Some areas of the UK (eg the South East) already have a strong share of good-quality jobs. The aim should be to create high-quality work that is more fairly distributed across the UK

Because productivity growth is higher in these sectors, jobs created by businesses in these industries are likely to be better-quality than, say, jobs in service sectors

In this way, the industrial strategy may start to improve the quality of work in the UK

Ministers have focused the strategy on eight sectors – the IS-8 – which have “the greatest potential to raise national levels of investment and productivity”

By raising labour demand in these sectors, the industrial strategy is likely to create more good-quality jobs