UK risks 25% rise in young jobless

Britain risks a 25% rise in the number of young people not in work or education to 1.25 million by the early 2030s without urgent government action to avoid a “lost generation”, a landmark report has warned.

- Richard Partington

Alan Milburn, the leader of the review into why so many young people are economically or educationally inactive, said Britain risked opening up a “generational fault line” between young and old without urgent steps to overhaul schools, the health service, welfare system, and the jobs market.

In his highly anticipated report published today, the former Labour treasury minister and health secretary will make the case for Keir Starmer’s government to launch a fresh push to shake up health and disability benefits while drastically improving access to employment support.

Calling for a reset of the system, Milburn will describe the welfare state as “exacerbating inactivity”, while arguing that new work programmes alone would fail to tackle far deeper-rooted problems. "This is not a failure of young people. It is a failure of a system stuck in the past," he will say.

"Whether it is education or health or welfare, that system fails to enable their participation in the labour market. Instead, all too often it ends up putting young people on a path to a life not in jobs but on benefits. This should be the priority for the government. It should be the priority for all of us." Any fresh attempt to put through welfare changes could prove contentious after Starmer's chaotic benefits U-turn last year in light of concerns that welfare cuts could drive up poverty during the cost of living crisis.

The review from Milburn, who served in Tony Blair's New Labour government, comes as there is a growing sense of alarm in Britain over the prospects of the next generation, with rising mental ill health, worries over social media, and AI upending the jobs market.