AI, Covid and taxes: what is behind steep rise in youth unemployment?

3 hours ago7 min read

Youth unemployment has surged to its highest level since the Covid pandemic, with younger people disproportionately bearing the brunt of a deteriorating UK jobs market. The jobless rate for 16 to 24-year-olds now stands at a troubling 15.3%, a figure that marks the highest point in a decade outside the anomalous peak during the autumn 2020 lockdown. This isn't merely a statistical blip; it's a profound social failure, a cascade of policy decisions and economic shifts that have converged to dim the prospects of an entire generation.The recent increase in employer National Insurance contributions, while perhaps fiscally intended, acts as a direct disincentive for hiring the youngest and often least experienced workers, placing a tangible barrier at the very moment they seek to enter the workforce. This policy, layered upon a weak and uncertain economy, creates a perfect storm where businesses retrench and opportunities evaporate.We must view this through a wider, more critical lens: the structural scars left by the pandemic lockdowns, which disrupted education, decimated entry-level service jobs, and normalised remote work patterns that often sideline those needing training and mentorship. The relentless march of automation and AI introduces another formidable layer, not as a distant sci-fi threat, but as a present-day reality reshaping clerical, retail, and administrative roles that have traditionally served as gateways for young employees.This is more than an economic indicator; it’s a human crisis with deep sociological roots. The exasperation voiced by graduates facing a closed door after years of investment and effort speaks to a broken social contract.From a feminist policy perspective, we must ask who is most affected within this cohort—are young women, often funneled into sectors hardest hit by austerity and automation, facing a steeper climb? The personal impact is corrosive: delayed independence, shattered confidence, and the long-term 'scarring' effect that can depress lifetime earnings and well-being. This situation demands a response that goes beyond temporary schemes.It requires a fundamental re-evaluation of our education-to-work pipeline, robust investment in green and tech jobs that offer a future, and a tax system that incentivises, rather than penalises, the hiring of young talent. The dreams and potential of a generation are at stake, and addressing this requires not just economic fixes, but a committed, empathetic drive to rebuild pathways to stable, meaningful work.

#featured

#youth unemployment

#UK economy

#National Insurance

#job market

#graduates

#economic slowdown

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