Huge gap in job vacancies for young people
New research says some areas have just 46 vacancies for every 1,000 young adults.
With concern over young people who aren't in education, training or employment (so called NEETS) and that youth unemployment is likely to be even higher than official statistics, new research shows a huge divide in the availability of suitable jobs for young people across the UK.
Some areas have just 46 vacancies for every 1,000 young adults, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR.)
The think tank warned that the crisis over the high number of young people classed as NEET cannot be solved without creating opportunities in the places that lack them.
Almost one million young people aged 16 to 24 were NEET in the UK between April and June 2026 according to government figures. That's about 13% of this age group.
Where are the biggest gaps in vacancies?
The analysis measured the number of suitable online vacancies relative to the number of 18- to 24-year-olds in a local labour market.
It found that there was around one suitable vacancy for every 22 young people in places like Rotherham, compared with one for every four young people in the Cotswolds.
Of local authorities with available data, nine of the 10 with the highest number of suitable vacancies per young adult are in the South, while four of the worst areas are in the Midlands, said the report.
The report also claimed there was a “major failure” to use apprenticeships consistently as a route into skilled work.
"More than six-fold gap in the availability of suitable vacancies depending on where you live."
Health and social work were among the sectors offering the most apprenticeships, while those like arts and entertainment lagged far behind, said the think tank.
Henry Parkes, principal economist at IPPR, said:
“Too much of the debate about youth unemployment starts from the assumption that the problem lies with the young person.
“Our local data shows just how wrong that is. There is a more than six-fold gap in the availability of suitable vacancies depending on where you live.
“You cannot solve a shortage of opportunity simply by asking young people to search harder.
“We need to create the first rung of the employment ladder in places where it is missing – and rebuild apprenticeships so that every sector is playing its part in giving the next generation a route into good work.”
The Prime Minister Andy Burnham had committed to cutting the number of young people who aren't in education, training or employment but hasn't set a date.