The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been urged to make a "decisive" change for benefits claimants born in certain years. The Conservative Party is calling on the Labour Party government and the DWP to take urgent action.
This comes after it emerged that entry-level roles for young people aged between 16 and 24 have halved in the past decade. Data shows that such positions have dropped from 139,329 to 71,110. Positions in human resources, sales, advertising, and marketing are down 73 percent, while those in retail and call centres have fallen by 59 percent.
Conservative Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately has urged the Government to “take decisive steps to improve quality and security of work” for young people. Former minister Alan Milburn said that the education, health, and welfare systems are no longer fit for purpose in preparing young people for adult life.
"We are at risk of a lost generation," he warned, with young adults facing a "perfect storm" of challenges. "The problem is that for too many young people, opportunities are not growing, they're shrinking," Milburn said. "You put in an application, dozens at a time, you hear nothing back, you just get rejected."
"This is a visceral feeling in the country… it's bordering on a fear in the country among parents and grandparents that this generation is going to be a lost generation," he added. "The old contract in society was always: you put in effort and got a reward, each generation would do better than the last - this contract has been broken for this generation."
David Bharier, deputy director of economics and insights at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The UK is not in recession but the economy remains trapped in a cycle where each recovery is interrupted before gaining traction, and firms go back on the defensive. With youth unemployment approaching 18 percent by mid-2027, the UK risks weakening the skills pipeline it needs for the next economy.”
