UK PM calls youth unemployment an ‘economic catastrophe and moral failure’

London: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that nearly one million young people being outside education, employment and training amounts to an “economic catastrophe and moral failure” that must change.
Writing in The Times, Burnham said the government should invest in young people’s success rather than “pay for failure through the benefits system.” He added that state support should be a “backstop,” not the starting point.
According to the latest Office for National Statistics figures, an estimated 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training between April and June 2026. About 39 per cent were unemployed, while 61 per cent were economically inactive and not seeking work.
Burnham cited the pandemic lockdowns, social media, excessive focus on university education, limited job opportunities and previous governments’ failures as causes of the crisis. He said social media was weakening young people’s confidence and sense of connection to society.
The prime minister pledged to guarantee every young person a technical pathway, apprenticeship, work placement and the skills needed to find employment. He also said a long-awaited review into young people and work, led by former health secretary Alan Milburn, will be published next month and its recommendations will be taken seriously.