Almost one in six 18-24-year-olds were out of work (13.7%) in the three months to November 2025 – the highest level in more than a decade, according to official figures released earlier this week.
Ministers are now said to be reviewing the pledge after being told by business groups that it is ‘pricing a generation of young people out of the workplace’ by increasing the cost of hiring workers through rises to the national living wage, wider employment rights and a tax raid on employers’ national insurance, according to The Times.
A decision could come within months when the Government sets its annual remit to the Low Pay Commission, which makes recommendations for rises in the national living wage.
Alternative options being considered could include extending the implementation timetable until after the next election, or equalising rates only for those workers over 20, according to reports.
Speaking about the rising numbers of unemployed young people, Kate Nicholls, the chair of trade body UKHospitality, said: “My industry has always been at the forefront of giving chances to people who are furthest from the labour market.
“To have those opportunities taken away because the government hastaxed them out of existence is ludicrous and heartbreaking.”