Half of jobs lost under Labour from under-25s, data shows

Keir Starmer has been warned that Britain's youth are in danger of becoming a "lost generation" on his watch as it emerged almost half of all jobs shed since Labour came to power are among the under-25s.

- Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent

With the government under fire before the autumn budget, Guardian analysis shows the dramatic leap in UK unemployment to the highest levels since the Covid pandemic is being fuelled by a youth jobs crisis.

Up to 46% of the 170,000 jobs lost from payrolls since June last year are those under the age of 25 - the equivalent of more than 150 jobs lost per day.

David Blunkett, the former Labour education secretary, said that, while the government was taking action, there was a danger a generation of young people would be let down.

"I think we've got to get our act together. It's a lost generation and if we don't do something now the consequences economically, societally and personally will be devastating," he said.

Blunkett, a leading figure in Tony Blair's New Labour government, urged Starmer to consider launching a revamped version of the 1990s New Deal for young people from early in Blair's first term.