Nearly one million young Brits have been left idle while the number of non-EU workers has soared by 315 per cent, a new study has found.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said under-25s were being ‘squeezed out of the job market’ by a combination of mass migration, rising payroll taxes and surging benefit awards.
A total of 987,000 16-24 year-olds – equivalent to more than one in eight – were categorised as NEETs (not in education, employment or training) in the year to December, an increase of 877,000 on the previous year.
The CSJ found this rise had been exacerbated by a fall of 49,000 in the number of young Britons on company payrolls between January 2020 and December 2024.
By contrast, the number of young non-EU migrants employed by British businesses soared by 258,000.
The CSJ report, Wasted Youth, claimed that the widening gulf in employment patterns is partly explained by UK employers opting for immigrants, while thousands of British young people claim out of work benefits for conditions such as anxiety and depression.
The number of NEETs citing ill health has increased by half since 2019.
And of the 250,000 NEETs inactive due to sickness, 62 per cent reported mental or emotional difficulties and half cognitive difficulties, with the two overlapping in over a quarter of cases.
The CSJ, which was founded by former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith, called for an overhaul in the approach, shifting away from ‘uncontrolled mass migration’ to focus on getting British youngsters into work.
It proposed a new ‘Future Workforce Credit’ to incentivise the hiring of NEETs. This would pay employers 30 per cent of their, half upfront and half after six months of continuous employment.
A cross-party group backing the proposal included Lord David Blunkett, former Labour Secretary of State for Education and Employment.
‘The last Labour Government’s New Deal for Young People proved that with the right approach we can take young people away from a life on benefits and into the world of work, growing the economy and transforming lives at the same time,’ he said.
‘I welcome this plan from the Centre for Social Justice, in particular the proposed Future Workforce Credit to help employers hire and upskill a new generation of talent. This is how we stop hundreds of thousands being written off and get Britain working again.’
Sir Jeremy Hunt , former Chancellor of the Exchequer under Rishi Sunak, said: ‘This is an important and timely report. The sharp rise in economic inactivity among young people is one of the biggest structural threats to our long-term growth and public finances.
‘The Centre for Social Justice has set out a serious plan to get Britain’s young people back to work. I strongly support the principle behind the Future Workforce Credit and their proposals to reform mental health benefits.
‘Given the soaring cost of hiring, ministers must take bold action this Autumn to support businesses and help more British youngsters reap all of the benefits that come with a job. The future of our economy depends on it.’
The report follows warnings from David Miles, an executive at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), that immigration is creating ‘serious problems’ for public services and living standards.
He said Labour must focus on getting unemployed Britons back to work in order to slash welfare spending and the UK’s ‘explosive’ debt pile.
Mr Miles suggested that spending on overseas workers to boost economic growth is unsustainable because they also rely on services such as schools and the NHS.
Lord Blunkett backed calls for a new ‘Future Workforce Credit’ to incentivise the hiring of NEETs
‘Immigration – which primarily involves those of working age who are many years away from retirement – both delays the impact of the ageing of the population and is the driver of population growth,’ he told the Telegraph.
‘Some conclude from this that a faster rise in the population… will be beneficial in alleviating acute underlying fiscal pressures.
‘But, even setting aside the fact that it is GDP per capita that matters for average standards of living – and growth in population does not obviously boost it – there are serious problems with the idea that faster population growth can consistently alleviate fiscal problems.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘This government is ending the failed experiment in open borders that saw net migration soar to nearly one million under the previous government, and through our Immigration White Paper are replacing it with one that puts Britain’s young people at the front of the queue for skills, training and work.
‘We will ensure every young person has the chance to thrive which is why any employer hiring someone under the age of 21 doesn’t have to pay National Insurance contributions until they earn over £50,000.
‘In addition to this, we are investing a further £45million in our Youth Guarantee trailblazer scheme to help ensure that no young person will be left behind as we unlock economic growth and secure prosperity for all under our Plan for Change.’
