'Youth employment drought' | Young people locked out of work as starter jobs halve in a decade, new study warns

The UK has entered a “youth employment drought”, with the number of entry-level jobs available to young people almost halving over the past decade, according to a new report from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University.

The report comes as the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has climbed above one million for the first time since 2013, prompting fresh concerns about a generation struggling to gain a foothold in the labour market.

Researchers found that so-called “starter jobs” suitable for those entering the workforce for the first time have fallen by 49% over the last decade. Average weekly vacancies dropped from 139,329 in 2016-17 to just 71,110 in 2025-26.

Perhaps more concerningly, the decline is accelerating. Over the last year, starter vacancies fell by 12.8%, compared with an 8.1% decline in vacancies across the wider labour market.