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The Milburn Review found that six in 10 young people had never had a job, as ITV News Business Editor Joel Hills reports<\/p>\n
Youth unemployment is the most “significant challenge facing our country today” and risks a “lost generation”, a landmark review has found. <\/p>\n
The report, led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, warns that a \u201cwhole system failure\u201d has led to nearly one in seven of the UK\u2019s 16 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training, known as Neets.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister responded to findings, saying youth unemployment is the most “significant challenge facing our country today”.<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer called it a “sobering report” and insisted that the government “need to do more”.<\/p>\n
He was visiting an engineering training facility for apprentices in London with Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden and was keen to detail their current plans for young people.<\/p>\n
Giving his reasons for the report being commissioned, Starmer said he had “been really worried about young people”, describing the issue of unemployment as “complicated and complex”.<\/p>\n
Starmer highlighted the scheme for employers where they can access a \u00a33,000 support payment for hiring a young person who has been unemployed for at least six months and is given an apprenticeship to give them “the start that they need”.<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden at an engineering training centre in West London on Thursday Credit: PA<\/p>\n
The new figures published on Thursday showed more than 1,012,000 young people, aged 16-24, were not in training, education or employment (Neet) between January and March 2026, a post-pandemic high. This is a 55,000 increase compared with the previous quarter, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures.<\/p>\n
Milburn said this means there is a \u201crisk of a lost generation\u201d and that Britain \u201cfaces a generational fault line\u201d \u2013 but he warned there are no easy solutions.<\/p>\n
Alan Milburn delivered his review in North London on Thursday Credit: PA<\/p>\n
Launching the report, the former health secretary warned that the number of unemployed young people could reach 1.25 million within the next five years.<\/p>\n
Young people who remain Neet between 18 and 24 could lose \u00a3300,000 over their lifetime, he said, warning: “Opportunities are not growing, they’re shrinking”.<\/p>\n
There are 1.6 million fewer low and medium-skilled jobs in the economy, while hospitality jobs have “halved in the last four years” and apprenticeships have fallen by 35% over the last decade, the report said.<\/p>\n
Six in ten young people had never had a job, with anxiety linked to social media also driving economic inactivity among the age group. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the launch of his report, Milburn said that young people today are “not worse, not lazier, not less capable” but instead are different.<\/p>\n
The former health secretary cited their experience “growing up in a digital world” and the impact of the pandemic, explaining how they are “more open about mental health” and are “more anxious”.<\/p>\n
The review showed 84% of Neet young people said they wanted a job, while Milburn rejected “the caricature of a generation that is not interested in work”.<\/p>\n