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 \u201clost generation\u201d, a landmark report has warned.<\/p>\n
Alan Milburn, the leader of the review into why so many young people are economically inactive<\/a>, said the UK risked opening up a \u201cgenerational fault line\u201d between young and old without urgent steps to overhaul schools, the health service, the welfare system and the jobs market.<\/p>\n In his highly anticipated report to be published on Thursday, the former Labour health secretary will make the case for Keir Starmer\u2019s government to launch a fresh push to reform health and disability benefits while drastically improving access to employment support.<\/p>\n Calling for a reset of the system, Milburn will describe the welfare state as \u201cexacerbating inactivity\u201d, while arguing that new work programmes alone would fail to tackle far deeper-rooted problems.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a failure of young people. It is a failure of a system stuck in the past. Whether it is education or health or welfare, that system fails to enable their participation in the labour market,\u201d he will say.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n However, any fresh attempt at welfare reform could prove divisive after Starmer\u2019s chaotic benefits U-turn last year<\/a>, amid concerns that welfare cuts would risk driving up poverty amid the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n There is a a growing sense of alarm in Britain over the prospects of the next generation, amid rising mental ill-health<\/a>, worries over social media<\/a>, and AI upending the jobs market<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unemployment in Britain has risen to the highest levels since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic<\/a> in recent months, with young people bearing the brunt of a downturn in the economy amid the fallout from the Iran war.<\/p>\n As Starmer battles for his political career, the prime minister has argued his government is tackling the cost of living crisis with more financial help for struggling households and a long-term plan for jobs and growth.<\/p>\n But with the threat of a leadership challenge from Andy Burnham \u2013 should the Greater Manchester mayor win next month\u2019s Makerfield byelection<\/a> \u2013 Labour is also locked in an increasingly bitter internal row over how to use its time in power.<\/p>\n Milburn will say in his report that whoever leads the party into a general election against Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK should make cutting youth unemployment a top priority, with a central mission to repair Britain\u2019s increasingly broken social contract.<\/p>\n Speaking at the launch of his interim report, the former cabinet minister under Tony Blair will warn that the promise that each generation should do better than the last is being broken, leaving parents and grandparents gripped by fear about what the future may hold for today\u2019s young people.<\/p>\n Experts have warned of a crisis in youth jobs, with official figures due on Thursday expected to show the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) is close to breaking through a million \u2013 the highest level for more than a decade.<\/p>\n Milburn will warn that without urgent action the number could continue rising from one in eight young people who are classified as Neet to one in six within five years \u2013 representing 1.25 million young lives.<\/p>\n However, the government has faced fierce criticism from business groups who say Labour policy has fuelled the crisis in youth jobs. Bosses have warned that entry-level jobs have been hit by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, adding \u00a325bn to employers\u2019 national insurance contributions, the push to equalise minimum wage rates<\/a> between young and older workers, and the party\u2019s drive to strengthen employment rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tina McKenzie, the policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: \u201cMinisters cannot ignore the impact soaring employment costs are having on hiring \u2026 [They] are a major factor when it comes to the number of Neets \u2013 which is a shame, because small firms want to back the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n According to extracts released ahead of publication, the report will say young people are being failed by employers and the government amid a sharp decline in entry-level jobs and opportunities in hospitality, leisure and retail.<\/p>\n It will say the \u201cSaturday job\u201d has long been dwindling, while the number of job vacancies in hospitality have halved in the past four years, and apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen by 35% in the past decade.<\/p>\n Analysis shows Britain has the third-highest rate of 16 to 24-year-olds<\/a> who are not earning or learning among rich European countries. Milburn\u2019s report finds six in 10 young people who are Neet have never worked, up from four in 10, the figure 20 years ago.<\/p>\n