Britain faces a ‘lost generation’ under Labour after figures showed nearly half of jobs shed since the government came to power were among the under-25s.
The figures highlight the damage wrought by Rachel Reeves’ £25 billion raid on employer national insurance – a policy which has been widely blamed for pushing up unemployment.
Joblessness has risen to 5 per cent, the highest level since 2016 – excluding the pandemic, according to official figures published last week. And UK payrolls have fallen by just under 170,000 since Labour took office.
Analysis of the data showed that more than 77,000 of those job losses were among those under 25. It equates to 158 job losses a day among younger workers. The figures were first highlighted by the Guardian.
Former Labour education secretary David Blunkett told the Guardian: ‘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.’
Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: ‘Any lost generation is on the Chancellor.
Unemployment has risen to 5 per cent
‘You don’t get more young people into work by punishing the very businesses that hire them.’
The figures also revealed that youth unemployment has increased from 14.8 per cent a year ago to 15.3 per cent, the highest level since 2015 – excluding the pandemic – and three times the 5 per cent unemployment rate across the wider population.
And the proportion of jobless 18-24 year-olds who have been out of work for more than a year has risen to 26 per cent, the highest since 2015.
The figures underline fears that Labour’s NI hikes have disproportionately affected the type of lower paid jobs, sometimes part-time, that have traditionally been first jobs for many young people, often in the hospitality and retail sectors.
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