FICTIONAL DOCUMENT FOR PRACTICE - no reference to real people, companies or records

LABOUR MARKET OBSERVATORY OF THE NORTH WEALD COMBINED AUTHORITY (fictional body)
Annual report 2026 - figures refer to 2025 unless stated otherwise

Page 3 - Summary
In 2025 the number of people in employment in the area is 412.3 thousand, up 1.2% on 2024. The unemployment rate falls to 6.8% from 7.4% the year before. Youth unemployment (aged 16 to 24) stands at 21.4%. There are 38,900 active businesses. For 2027 the Observatory forecasts an unemployment rate of 6.1%.

Page 7 - Table 2. Labour market (levels in thousands, rates in per cent)
Indicator | 2024 | 2025
In employment | 407.4 | 412.3
Unemployed | 32.6 | 30.1
Unemployment rate | 7.4 | 6.8
Unemployment rate, aged 16 to 24 | 26.0 | 24.1
Female employment rate | 58.2 | 59.0

Page 9 - Businesses
The business register counts 38,900 active businesses at 31 December 2024 (latest figure available at the time of writing). The balance of business births and deaths for 2025 has not yet been published.

Page 11 - Pay
Mean gross annual pay for employees is £29,850 in 2025 (source: Observatory analysis of administrative data). The figure is not comparable with the one in the 2025 report, which included part-time workers.

Page 14 - Outlook
The central scenario forecasts an unemployment rate of 6.1% for 2027, on the assumption that the investment in the Combined Authority's plan is spent by the end of 2026. In an adverse scenario the rate would stay at 6.8%.