A stark report has laid bare the grim reality for young Britons: a job market so desolate that one applicant sent out 400 applications without success. The data, compiled by the Resolution Foundation, reveals that youth unemployment has hit its highest level in over a decade, with 18- to 24-year-olds bearing the brunt of a labour market that has lost its vigour.
The numbers are unsparing. The number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has swollen to 872,000, a figure not seen since the aftermath of the financial crisis. Even those in work are often trapped in low-paid, insecure roles. The report cites a 26% rise in zero-hours contracts among young workers since 2019.
Why is this happening? The usual suspects parade before us: the hangover from the pandemic, the cost-of-living squeeze, and a government that seems more interested in tweaking fiscal rules than in tackling structural unemployment. But let's be brutally honest. The British economy is suffering from a chronic lack of productive investment. We have seen capital flight, a sclerotic planning system, and a central bank that has been behind the curve on inflation. The result is a labour market that cannot absorb the young.
The reaction from the Treasury has been predictably tepid. A spokesperson offered the standard platitudes about 'skills' and 'opportunity', but where is the bold thinking? Where is the fiscal stimulus targeted at the young? Instead, we have a Chancellor who seems determined to tighten the purse strings, oblivious to the human cost.
Let us consider the implications for the wider economy. A generation that cannot find work will not be building the homes, starting the businesses, or paying the taxes that will support an ageing population. This is not just a social tragedy; it is a fiscal time bomb. The longer this persists, the greater the strain on public finances, the higher the risk of social unrest, and the more entrenched the scarring effects on young people's lifetime earnings.
Investors are watching. A young workforce that is underemployed is a drag on productivity and a signal of economic malaise. It makes the UK a less attractive destination for capital. The pound has already suffered, and gilt yields have been volatile. If the government does not act, expect further capital flight.
The report calls for a 'youth guarantee' of employment or training. It is a start, but it is not enough. We need a fundamental rethinking of the UK's economic model: less reliance on cheap labour and asset inflation, more on genuine productivity growth. Until then, the young will continue to send out hundreds of CVs, each one a small tragedy in an economy that has failed them.
