Britain will invest an additional 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) to unlock jobs for young people, the government will announce on Monday, as part of a drive to reduce high numbers of youth unemployment, particularly 16-to-24-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
Britain’s youth unemployment has reached a 10-year high, according to data released last month, outpacing other European nations and posing tough questions for the governing Labour Party over its decision to raise the minimum wage.
Official figures released last month showed that Britain’s unemployment rate for people aged 16-24 rose to 16.1% in the final quarter of 2025, up from 13.8% mid-last year and a record low of under 9.2% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grants And Subsidised Job Measures
Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden will announce on Monday that the 1 billion pounds will be invested in grants to companies willing to engage young people and also in more subsidised jobs measures that will help create 200,000 jobs.
He is also set to announce “the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade,” the government said.
“These measures will give life-changing opportunities to young people and significantly reverse the increase we inherited in those not in education, employment or training,” McFadden said in a statement before the announcement. “These reforms will give young people a vital first step on the career ladder and help business leaders recruit the talent that will grow their companies.”
Some companies have said they are struggling to hire young people, citing increases in the minimum wage, along with rises in employers’ social security contributions and other costs.
The government has pledged to end lower minimum wage rates for 18 to 10-year-old workers. The minimum wage rate currently stands at 12.21 pounds ($16.40) an hour—up 29% over the past three years—while the rate for 18 to 20-year-old workers has risen 46% to 10 pounds an hour over the same period and is due to increase 10.85 pounds in April.
(With inputs from Reuters)
