This morning, we launched the Smart Works Unemployment Index 2024. Read the full report here.

Now in its third year, the research concluded that the state of the job market deteriorated significantly throughout 2024. The hardships and barriers experienced by women seeking work have worsened beyond what the staff and volunteers at Smart Works could have imagined.

In 2024, Smart Works spoke to 4,912 women across the UK about their experiences of unemployment, the job market, and the hardships faced when trying to find a job. This is what we found:

• Women are least likely to secure work than they have been in the last three years, at an average of 38 unsuccessful applications, compared to 28 in 2022. 27% applied for over 50 roles unsuccessfully.
• Unemployed women spent an average of 25 hours per week (over 3 working days) on job applications, with 34% dedicating more than 25 hours weekly – up from 26% last year.
• The impact of the application process on women’s confidence was detrimental – the majority reported feeling less confident after experiencing the job application process, with over 1 in 4 women feeling their confidence had decreased significantly.
• Ethnic minorities, women with disabilities, and parents experienced the most hardship in unemployment, and were less likely to secure work.
  • Despite applying for approximately the same number of jobs and attending the same number of interviews, 63% of ethnic minority women got the job after the interview stage, compared to 67% of white women, reflecting the bias many experience at face-to-face interviews.
  • Similarly, only 61% of women with disabilities got the job, compared to 65% of those without, with focus group participants highlighting the lack of employers willing to make reasonable adjustments.
  • Parents found that the cost of childcare and lack of flexible roles increased the difficulty of securing work. Significantly, for the first time, women reported that they aren’t able to become parents due to these factors.

The study, which was recently awarded Most Powerful Research Using Insight by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, makes some clear and simple recommendations to society, highlighting a need for more transparency and compassion in the recruitment process, reimbursement for interview travel, tightening of regulations surrounding recruitment, and collaboration between charities and organisations supporting unemployed women into work.

The Smart Works service is a part of the solution. Through our impactful dressing and coaching service, we not only play a part in alleviating the pressures faced by unemployed women all across the UK, but provide a model for the future. After using the charity’s interview dressing and coaching service, 64% of the sample secured a job within a month of their appointment. 97% of Smart Works clients feel more confident in their new interview outfit and 95% feel they can answer interview questions more effectively.

Through this report, we tell you the stories of thousands of women we meet each year. We tell you the barriers they have faced, the impact on their lives, and how you can help make it easier for women to find work and succeed in their job interviews.

Together, we can make a change. Together, we can help women find work and change the trajectory of their lives.

Read the full report here.