Missing Men report finds UK needs a million more men and boys in work to hit Government employment target of 80%
Missing Men: Men and Boys’ Scorecard Report (Download)

A new report from the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB) (launched today 13th May 2025), Missing Men – Men and Boys’ Scorecard, shows the Government needs men and boy-specific policies if it is to achieve its ambition of an 80% employment rate.  The Get Britain Working white paper targets this figure which would make the UK one of the top performing countries in the world.  The Missing Men scorecard suggests this would require a male employment rate of 83%, assuming the current gap in employment rates between men and women remains at 6 percentage points, as it has been seen since the pandemic.

The CPRMB is a newly-launched, research-based think tank, and its chair, Richard Reeves, says, “To reach this figure would mean almost a million working age men moving from unemployment or economic inactivity into work, achieving an employment rate not seen for more than forty years.  We believe it’s a laudable aim, but one that can only be met if the government ensures welfare to work policies can be made gender sensitive, locally-based, and dovetailed with its growth and industrial strategies.”

The rewards for meeting that target go far beyond the obvious benefits to the individuals finding jobs.  Even at minimum wage they would earn £22 billion, raising £1.88 billion in income tax and £753 million in National Insurance contributions. An increase in male employment of this magnitude would boost GDP by nearly 1 percent.

The Missing Men report is the initial publication from the CPRMB and the first of its kind to bring together available data over a broad range of areas affecting British males.  The organisation will look at Economy, employment and Skills, Education, Health (suicide, mental and physical), Criminal Justice, Fatherhood and Family, Male Identity and Portrayal of Men in Media and Culture.

Men and boys still struggling post-pandemic

Richard says, “Men and boys have never fully recovered from the effects of the Covid pandemic and are notably worse off in many ways than they were before.  There are more unemployed men, more economically inactive men, and an employment rate that has fallen 2.5 percentage points since 2019. Fourteen men die by suicide every day in the UK. That is three times the number of people killed on Britain’s roads each year. Life expectancy for men is down and prison numbers are up. Male teachers make up less than 1 in 4 of teachers in our schools and classrooms. In our universities there is a 10 percentage point attendance gap in favour of women. Even in pay 16-24 year old women are now paid on average more than 16-24 year old men.

That’s why we’ve founded the CPRMB; to use a data-led approach to assess the impact of public policy on an ongoing basis, and to make recommendations about how to improve the situation.” 

It’s important to point out, the CRMB believes doing more for boys and men does not mean doing less for girls and women.  Far from it.  What is good for one half of the population has to be good for the other if all are to benefit.    

As well as conducting the necessary research to continually update the Men and Boys’ Scorecard, the CPRMB aims to raise awareness among policymakers, statutory bodies, academics, NGOs, employers and wider society across all areas affecting males.  The organisation will play a convening role in promoting reputable research from external bodies and individuals, becoming the central hub for core data on men.  It will design programmes and policies arising from the results of evidence-based research and make policy recommendations intended to benefit all.