Matt Whittaker

First one of 2026

We should therefore probably pay more attention to civil society’s role as a jobs generator. Both in terms of supporting its leading role in driving employment and in doing more to ensure it provides a viable career option for all parts of society.

All data via the DCMS: www.gov.uk/government/s...

Dumbbell chart showing the change in the proportion of all jobs held by different demographic groups (e.g. sex, age, ethnicity) that are accounted for by civil society. Start date is three-year average for 2011-13, end date is three-year average for 2022-24, with arrows showing whether the proportions have risen or fallen for each group.

But the growth has been unevenly distributed. We've had some rebalancing in the civil society profile by age (the sector now accounts for 2.7% of jobs among 25-34-year-olds, up from 2.3%), but the skew towards women and disabled people and away from ethnic minorities has become more pronounced

Bar chart showing the proportion of all growth in jobs between 2011-13 and 2022-24 across different demographic groups (e.g. sex, age, ethnicity) accounted for by civil society jobs. It shows that civil society accounted for 5.6% of all jobs growth, including 7.3% of all growth in jobs held by women, 9.5% of all growth in jobs held by people aged 45-54, 4.9% growth in all jobs held by people with a disability as defined by the Equality Act 210, and 10.6% of all growth in jobs held by white people. Civil society accounted for disproportionately less growth in jobs among people aged 16-24 and ethnic minorities.

First thing to note is the role civil society has played as an engine of jobs growth. Paid civil society jobs climbed by 29% between 2011 and 2024, compared with 13% in the wider economy. Civil society accounted for 2.5% of all jobs in 2011-13, but drove 5.6% of the economy-wide increase to 2022-24

Bar chart comparing the demographic profile of jobs in civil society and in the rest of the economy. It shows that women account for 48% of all jobs in the rest of the economy, but 67% of all civil society jobs. Meanwhile, men account for 52% of all jobs in the wider economy, but just 33% of civil society jobs. Other demographic categories shown include age, disability and ethnicity.

It’s fairly-well understood that the civil society workforce differs from the wider economy. A much higher share of (paid) jobs are held by women (67%/48%) and disabled people (25%/18%), but relatively few by young people (5%/11% of 16-24s) and ethnic minorities (12%/16%). But how did we get here?

Get involved | PBE We rely on the support of a wide range of donors and partners to deliver our vital services to charities across the UK - working with trusts, foundations and businesses to support their grantees and c...

Thanks to all in the @pbe.co.uk network: present and former staff, volunteers, associates, trustees, partners, funders and policy colleagues. We're looking forward to doing even more in 2026.

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Column chart showing the number of economists engaging with PBE in some form or other (volunteering, attending webinars, training) in each year from 2010. It shows that 174 economists engaged in 2025, easily the largest number of record.

We want to bring the rest of the economist profession with us on this drive to use analytical power to support better outcomes for those at the sharp end of society. Great then to have engaged with a record number last year 👇 helping mainstream a focus on wellbeing across all sectors

Case study box featuring Samuel Thomas, Senior Policy Advisor at the charity Z2K. He provides responses to questions about Z2K's experience of working with PBE, noting that they found PBE to be collaborative, impactful and responsive.

By combining our love of both numbers (data) and numbers (partners), we amplify charities' impact. As with @z2ktrust.bsky.social 👇, where our novel analytical approach shone a new light on the quality-of-life impact of disability benefits and thereby helped inform the wider debate around reform

Case study box featuring a picture of Iseoluwa Adejumo, along with her responses to a series of questions about her experience of volunteering with PBE. Iseoluwa volunteered with Welcome to Badminton, a charity that offers sports sessions for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to support their wellbeing.

'Strength in numbers', both because data is our thing but also because our impact is driven by collaboration with hundreds of people and orgs across the UK. That now includes our 1,000th economist volunteer, Iseoluwa Adejumo, who generously and expertly supported the charity Welcome to Badminton 👇

Our impact in 2025 | PBE The wellbeing challenge is a complex one. In 2025 we used our unique combination of economic expertise and social sector connection to help charities, funders, firms and policymakers tackle the causes...

Really pleased to publish our 2025 impact report, showcasing a year in which we arguably did more than ever before to empower UK charities, unleash civil society's potential, and drive the use of economics for good pbe.co.uk/impact_repor...

Huge credit and thanks to all in the @pbe.co.uk family

Our 2025 impact report – Strength in Numbers – is published today 📣

Working in the think tank sector: Webinar for those interested in working in the sector YouTube video by Resolution Foundation

Really enjoyed discussing what it's like being an @instituteforgovernment.org.uk researcher at the "Working in the think tank sector" event at @resolutionfoundation.org yesterday. Recording available below, with the "Day in a life" panel starting from 1:43.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2S1...

Delighted that we at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk are once again supporting this annual online event aimed at reaching people currently under-represented in the think tank sector… please share with your networks…

Plenty more to explore in ONS data release: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

But also worth looking at slightly older data on HEALTHY life expectancy (average time someone lives in "very good" or "good" general health), where gaps across the country are even wider: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

Dumbbell chart showing life expectancy in 2002-04, 2012-14 and in 2022-24 in the top three ranked local areas of the UK and the lowest three ranked local areas. Central estimates are shown, alongside 95% confidence intervals. Chart details the number of additional years of life expected, on average, among males aged 65-69.

Older men have narrowed the life expectancy gap with older women in this period, but the gap between the best and worst performing parts of the country has once again widened – rising from 3.1 years in 2002-04 to 4.8 years in 2022-24

Dumbbell chart showing life expectancy in 2002-04, 2012-14 and in 2022-24 in the top three ranked local areas of the UK and the lowest three ranked local areas. Central estimates are shown, alongside 95% confidence intervals. Chart details the number of additional years of life expected, on average, among females aged 65-69.

Large gaps exist for those who have already made it to older age too, with 65-69-year-old females in the best performing parts of the country enjoying an additional 5.3 years of life expectancy in 2022-24 compared to 65-69-year-olds in the worst performing parts of the country

Dumbbell chart showing life expectancy in 2002-04, 2012-14 and in 2022-24 in the top three ranked local areas of the UK and the lowest three ranked local areas. Central estimates are shown, alongside 95% confidence intervals. Chart details the number of additional years of life expected, on average, among males aged under-1.

The life expectancy gap between the best and worst performing localities is even larger for for boys than for girls, though sizeable improvements among boys in some of the lowest life expectancy areas between 2002-04 and 2012-14 mean the gender difference is less pronounced than it was

Dumbbell chart showing life expectancy in 2002-04, 2012-14 and in 2022-24 in the top three ranked local areas of the UK and the lowest three ranked local areas. Central estimates are shown, alongside 95% confidence intervals. Chart details the number of additional years of life expected, on average, among females aged under-1.

Latest data on life expectancy in local areas of the UK shows overall improvements in outcomes over the last 20 years, but a widening of the absolute gap between the best and worst performing parts of the country. Progress has slowed (or even reversed in some areas) in the last decade too

Data and ONS release here: www.ons.gov.uk/releases/dru...

Panel chart with six different line graphs. The top three show the proportion of people reporting using Class A drugs in the last year, while the bottom three show the proportion reporting using any illicit drugs. Within each set of three, one chart shows the pattern of use by level feelings of self-worth, one chart shows the pattern by reported level of happiness, and one shows the pattern of drug use by self-reported level of anxiety. Those with lower sense of worth and happiness were significantly more likely to have reported drug use in the last year. Those with high anxiety tended to be more likely to report drug use than those with low levels of anxiety, but drug use fell among those reporting ‘very high’ levels of anxiety.

Looking at other self-reported measures of wellbeing (and focusing just on overall use) the pattern looks even more pronounced. For example, 21.5% of people who reported low happiness ‘yesterday’ said they’d used drugs in the last year, dropping to 8.5% for those reporting medium levels of happiness

Panel chart with eight different line graphs. Each one depicts the proportion of people who report having used a different illicit drug in the last year, split by their self-reported level of life satisfaction. Those who report low satisfaction with their lives report higher use of cannabis and powder cocaine, but the relationship doesn’t hold for other drugs. Ecstasy use is higher among those with higher life satisfaction for example. Because cannabis is the most used drug however, the overall pattern by life satisfaction falls in a linear fashion as wellbeing rises.

This is probably a well-known thing, but I hadn’t seen the data before… Need to be cautious of sample sizes and can’t infer causality, but interesting to see both how overall drug use rises as wellbeing falls and how much the pattern varies by drug. Cannabis clearly dominates the overall picture

O, blessed revisions: fiscal windfall and what to do with it • Resolution Foundation Resolution Foundation’s Autumn Statement analysis, including: Economic outlook Public finances outlook Taxes and benefits Public services The changing state

I mean... www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

And sure, with all those arms they'll have an advantage when it comes to sending daily text messages, but will they have the charm to pull off 'cheeky'?

Unlocking creativity: The economic impact of engagement with arts and culture among young people  | PBE Children and young people in the UK are enduring a wellbeing crisis. Our teenagers record the lowest levels of life satisfaction in Europe, and one-in-four of our 19-year-olds has a probable mental di...

The UK’s young people have the lowest wellbeing in Europe. This comes at a huge cost, with too many children feeling persistently unhappy.

Hear from economists, educators, academics & young people on the difference arts programmes make to wellbeing, & how we measure it ⬇️

📆20 November, 4 pm online

Unlocking creativity: the economic impact of engagement with arts and culture among young people | PBE Children and young people in the UK have the lowest wellbeing in Europe. National survey data from 2023 show that about one in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 years were likely to have a m...

Our latest report explores how early engagement with arts and culture can play a powerful role in supporting young people’s wellbeing, and assesses the value for money these programmes generate.

pbe.co.uk/publications...

Europa Ineffable on X: "In a recent panel at what looks like Labour conference, Sunder Katwala, wearing an England shirt, appeared to compare the R🦍 GANGS to a football match: "it's a game of two halves" 🥴 https://t.co/b5YNKyaQtu" / X In a recent panel at what looks like Labour conference, Sunder Katwala, wearing an England shirt, appeared to compare the R🦍 GANGS to a football match

A very worrying escalation of online harassment.

Somebody has used a video of me saying "racism in football is a game of two halves" + put a fake voiceover on it saying "what I would say to the girls of Rotherham is it is a game of two halves"

x.com/EuropaIneffa...

Senior Research Fellow, IPPR North | IPPR The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society.

We're hiring!💥

IPPR North are looking for a senior researcher who has big ideas for the future of our regions. Join us at this pivotal time for our economy and democracy.

Based in Manchester, apply by 31st October.

www.ippr.org/jobs/senior-...

It's ALWAYS Finland with the data

Chart shows net replacement rates in unemployment for a single homeowner with no children. Title states: "Unemployment benefits in the UK are low compared to OECD countries, and contributory benefits are no higher than means-tested benefits."

NEW: The UK social security system offers relatively little income protection after job loss.

THREAD on Martin Mikloš and @xiaoweixu.bsky.social's IFS Green Budget chapter on the options for introducing ‘unemployment insurance’:

Better evidence, better outcomes: The business case for a Civil Society Evidence Organisation | PBE Civil society is one of the UK’s greatest assets. It is driven by innovation, rooted in communities, and committed to tackling some of the nation’s most complex challenges, but it faces barriers that ...

Civil society is one of the UK’s greatest assets, but it needs a Civil Society Evidence Organisation (CSEVO): a hub to access evidence, cut duplication & support smarter decisions.

We have a plan: £2.5m over 5 yrs, co-funded by government and the sector.

Read the report: pbe.co.uk/publications...