Youth Unemployment

Lord Altrincham Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Altrincham]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the youth unemployment rate.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Sherlock) (Lab)]

My Lords, too many young people are at risk of being left behind, without the right skills, opportunities and support to get started in work. This Government are determined to change that. We are developing a new youth guarantee with the ambition to give all young people access to high quality learning and earning opportunities. As a first step, eight mayoral strategic authorities began mobilising trailblazers to inform the future design of the youth guarantee. With adult skills moving into DWP, we are excited about the opportunities that we now have to bring together skills and employment to drive growth and opportunity in the labour market.

[Lord Altrincham (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her Answer and for her work and her commitment to young people. Unemployment for those under 30 is rising steadily. HMRC data every month this year has shown falls in payrolled employment of young people, offset by a small rise in employment for those over 65. Given welfare expansion, the enormous step up in personal independent payment expectations and the fiscal tightening on employers, where do the Government think that unemployment for young people under 30 will be in exactly one year’s time?

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right to flag that youth unemployment has been rising over the last three years. It is probably worth noting that there is always a higher rate of unemployment for young people than for older age groups; they tend to have higher rates of unemployment mainly because they are more likely to cycle in and out of the labour market around the age that they start into work. However, the trend is one that we need to watch, and he is right to raise it.

The noble Lord is also right to raise the fiscal context, but the real reason that I want to do something about this is not just for my colleague, the Chancellor of the Exchequer—keen though she would be—but because we do not want any young person to leave school and not have the opportunity to learn more or to work. We have tried various things in different Governments, and we have now decided not to leave anyone behind. We are developing a new youth guarantee with a clear commitment that every young person should be earning or learning. We have people in different parts of the country trying to work out what works in their locality, for their young people and their employers. We are transforming apprenticeships, investing in greater support for young people and making sure we identify those young people who are at risk. Frankly, if they are not in education, employment or training at 18 or 19, that is a real risk for the future. We need to find them and support them.