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  "path": "/money/britain-faces-lost-generation-of-young-people",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-27T21:44:59.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\nBritain risks creating a \"lost generation\" of young people locked out of work and education unless urgent action is taken, according to a major new review led by former Labour minister Alan Milburn.\n\nThe report warned that 1.25 million people aged between 16 and 24 could be outside employment, education or training by 2031 without significant intervention.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThat figure would amount to roughly one in six young people in the age group.\n\nThe findings come as youth unemployment continues to rise sharply across Britain.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCurrent figures show youth unemployment stands at 16.2 per cent, marking its highest level since 2014 and more than three times the wider national unemployment rate of five per cent.\n\nOfficial figures from late 2025 recorded 957,000 young people classified as not in employment, education or training, commonly referred to as NEETs.\n\nMore than half were not actively searching for work.\n\nMr Milburn said Britain’s education, welfare and health systems were \"no longer fit for purpose\" when it came to preparing young people for employment.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe review argued Labour's spending priorities had become heavily weighted towards welfare payments rather than helping younger people secure jobs and training opportunities.\n\nAccording to the report, around £25 is currently spent on benefits for every £1 directed towards helping young people into employment.\n\nSpeaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Milburn said the imbalance risked pushing more young people towards long-term welfare dependency instead of sustainable careers.\n\nHowever, the former Health Secretary rejected suggestions that younger generations lacked ambition or willingness to work.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe report found that 84 per cent of surveyed young people wanted employment or training opportunities.\n\nMr Milburn is expected to say: “This is not a failure of young people. It is a failure of a system stuck in the past.”\n\nHe argued that current structures too often steer younger people towards benefits rather than employment pathways.\n\nThe review also highlighted the personal experiences of young people struggling to enter the workforce.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nZaynah, 24, said she had submitted more than 200 job applications over the past year without receiving a single response.\n\nShe explained that ongoing health problems had prevented her from gaining work experience after leaving college.\n\n“Getting a job is very hard because with my issues, I haven't got that much experience, I've never worked before,” she said.\n\nLuke, a 23‑year‑old graduate from Central Saint Martins, described facing more than 400 rejections while searching for work. He secured just one interview, for a cleaning role, which he did not obtain.\n\n“It’s humiliating,” he said. “It makes you depressed, especially the amount of rejections.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe report also included examples of successful intervention programmes helping young people move into employment.\n\nRocky, who spent a year unemployed, received mentoring support through youth charity Spear and later progressed to assistant manager at Nando’s within three years.\n\nWork and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, who commissioned the review, said the Government had already introduced measures designed to improve opportunities for younger workers.\n\nMr McFadden pointed to financial incentives for businesses hiring young employees alongside expanded apprenticeship schemes.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately criticised Labour’s wider economic policies, arguing Labour had made it harder for businesses to recruit younger workers.\n\nMs Whately pointed to increased business taxation and apprenticeship funding restrictions.\n\nBusiness leaders also raised concerns about worsening conditions for entry-level employment opportunities.\n\nRain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, described the findings as exposing \"a tragic waste of potential\".\n\nThe report noted hospitality vacancies have halved over the past four years, while competition for retail jobs has nearly doubled.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Britain faces 'lost generation' of young people shut out of work"
}