Britain risks losing an entire generation to unemployment. Nationwide, close to a million young people – roughly one in eight – are failing to make a durable transition from the classroom to the workplace.
Ahead of the closely watched Alan Milburn review, due to be published on Tuesday, the Guardian is unveiling a new series that will trace the journeys of eight young people fighting to secure a foothold on the career ladder.
Recruited from every corner of the country, the eight will document their experiences of job hunting during a period of economic uncertainty – contending with the upheaval of the Covid pandemic during their final school years and, now, an AI revolution reshaping the labour market.
The series launches as Andy Burnham pledges to restore optimism for the next generation by moving more young people into employment, with the government working to reverse a surge in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neet) that has climbed to its highest level in a decade.
I feel unbelievable guilt given my academic and general life chances
Frances, 25
Every participant will share candid reflections on their encounters with employers and the welfare system.
The youngest participant is 20 and the oldest 26 – just beyond the bracket used for the official figures, yet essential to the picture, because the cycle of insecure work can leave lasting scars long after early adulthood.
Those effects can be severe. People who reach 24 without ever holding a job stand to forfeit up to £300,000 in lifetime earnings, even if they eventually find their way back into stable employment.
For many, the ordeal is measured in endless applications, rejection letters and outright silence from employers – a punishing experience that carries a heavy financial and emotional cost, and one made harder still in an age dominated by social media and comparison.
The damage to mental health is a constant refrain among those who feel their working lives have yet to begin. Many carry a further burden of guilt and shame at still living with their parents and depending on them for support.
Frances, 25, from London, said: “I feel unbelievable guilt given my academic and general life chances, but I can’t even seem to get seasonal work as a retail assistant or bar worker.”
Alice, 24, from Bristol, said: “There have been a couple of occasions where I’ve not been able to sleep. I’ve cried in the middle of the night and just thought: ‘I don’t want to do any of this.’ Every setback is tricky to pick yourself back up from.”
On Tuesday, Milburn will release his final official report on young people and work. Handing his recommendations to the government, the former Labour cabinet minister will warn of a structural breakdown across both the market and the state that has driven the number of young Neets up to a million.
Framing his report as a decisive turning point for the country, Milburn will urge ministers to overhaul the benefits system while expanding employment support, alongside reforms to education and health policy designed to open more doors for young jobseekers.
Among the young people taking part in the Guardian’s project, many rely on universal credit. Some hold a few hours of precarious work – but none has secured meaningful employment on a lasting footing.
Their educational backgrounds vary widely, from one graduate holding degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge to another who never passed maths or English at GCSE.
Rather than the lazy, coddled stereotype often attached to their generation, most share the same aspirations as their parents and grandparents before them – to get ahead in life. Yet they are navigating a time of soaring living costs, a daunting path onto the property ladder, and the fading promise that hard work alone guarantees prosperity.
You can do everything right and still lose. I feel like the social contract is broken in Britain
Aamir, 25
Aamir, 25, from London, said: “The universal credit people told me I’d done everything right. You can do everything right and still lose. I feel like the social contract is broken in Britain.”
For Burnham’s government, the goal reaches beyond simply restoring hope. Getting more young people into work is intended to strengthen the wider economy and relieve the strain that a swelling benefits bill places on public finances.
With so many young people locked out of jobs, employers forfeit a fresh pool of talent, while businesses miss out on a vast base of prospective customers for their products and services.
For the state, a sluggish economy and the expense of supporting those out of work carry a steep price. Milburn puts the annual cost of Britain’s youth jobs crisis at £125bn.
Employers, too, will need to rethink how they support young applicants, especially those living with health conditions, disabilities or additional needs. For many of the participants, the pattern repeats itself: a catch-22 in which entry-level roles demand prior experience, and companies either ignore candidates or make scant effort to help newcomers settle in.
Liam, 20, from Exeter, said: “I’ve had interviews, rejections, ghosting, you name it. I’ve had jobs where they let me go after a couple of weeks. It’s just soul-destroying.”
