The number of unemployed young people could double this year without government intervention, a think tank has warned today.
New analysis by the IPPR estimates that an extra 620,000 young people will be unemployed by the end of the year. This will be the highest number on record, surpassing the levels seen in the 2008/9 and 1990s recessions.
The IPPR is calling for a £3bn government intervention to ensure everyone under the age of 25 is in education, training, apprenticeship or a job.
This includes creating at least 140,000 new jobs for young people who are still claiming benefits after six months.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, IPPR senior research fellow and lead report author, said: ‘We face an unemployment crisis in the UK. Our analysis suggests youth unemployment could more than double by the end of the year. This would be a huge waste of talent and potential. It doesn’t have to be like this.
’That’s why we are calling on the government to step in to guarantee all young people either a funded place in education, an apprenticeship or a job. This will require the state to support businesses to take on young people, just as it has supported them to retain adults through the furlough scheme.’
