Youth Unemployment

Lord Leigh of Hurley Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Leigh of Hurley]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rising level of youth unemployment.

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

My Lords, since May 2022, unemployment of young people has been rising. There are now almost 1 million young people not in education, employment or training. Young people face challenges such as lower skills, lack of work experience and a rise in reported health issues. In response, the Government are investing an additional £1.5 billion over the next three years through the youth guarantee and the growth and skills levy to help young people earn and learn. In addition, an independent review led by Alan Milburn will focus on the causes of youth unemployment.

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

Indeed, and this very morning the ONS announced that youth unemployment has risen yet again. Our national living wage is now approaching that of France, which has a staggering youth unemployment rate of 20%. Even the Resolution Foundation agrees that when the national living wage went up for 18 to 20 year-olds, unemployment went up as a direct result. Have the Government done any risk assessments to see at what point a higher national living wage, especially for 18 to 20 year-olds, affects employment and increases unemployment?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

As the noble Lord knows, and as was the case under the previous Government and from the time that the Low Pay Commission was set up, we explicitly asked the commission to consider the implications on employment of recommendations around increases in the living wage. We will continue to do that so that we can both make progress on getting young people back into work and ensure that they are fairly rewarded when they are there.