Youth unemployment could cost the economy almost £7 billion next year, according to a report.
Although the economy is expected to rebound sharply this year, young people are facing a prolonged crisis with youth unemployment likely to remain high for some time, according to research by the Learning and Work Institute, the Prince’s Trust and HSBC UK.
Although the government’s income support schemes have helped to prevent a nationwide jobs crisis, young people have so far borne the brunt of the damage.
Official figures show that two-thirds of the 693,000 fall in payroll jobs recorded in the year to last month were among under 25s. The number of young people out of work for six months or more rose by 40 per cent in the same period to 215,000.
Young people usually struggle to break into the labour market during economic downturns but this crisis has compounded the problem by striking those industries where young people are disproportionately employed, including retail and hospitality.
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“While some areas of the economy might begin on the road to recovery, young workers are under-represented in these sectors,” the report said.
