'A generation at risk' | Youth jobs slump creates fresh workforce challenge for HR

The UK’s youth jobs market is sliding down the international rankings, with new PwC analysis warning that the economic cost of inaction could run into tens of billions of pounds.

According to PwC’s 2025 Youth Employment Index, the UK now ranks 27th out of 38 OECD countries for youth employment outcomes, having seen a sharp deterioration in recent years. The Index looks at how 16 to 24-year-olds are faring across areas such as labour market participation, job quality and skills development.

Youth unemployment in the UK now stands at 15%, up from 11% three years ago, marking the steepest increase of any G7 country. PwC says this decline comes at a time when the Government is stepping up efforts to tackle rising numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), including fresh Budget funding for guaranteed work placements for 18 to 21-year-olds and a new independent investigation into youth inactivity.

Economic inactivity at a decade high

PwC’s report paints a troubling picture of youth economic inactivity. One in eight young people in the UK is now classed as NEET, while overall inactivity among 16 to 24-year-olds is at its highest level in a decade.