Alan Milburn’s First NEETs Crisis Report Lands Amid Rising UK Unemployment and Labour Unrest

Miles Bennington

Editor – Chamber UK

The first report of Alan Milburn’s independent review into young people and work established by the Government will be released today as UK unemployment has hit 5% and the number of NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training) hits over a million according to the ONS.

Today’s 200 page report will set out the problems faced by young people, with a further report later this year setting out recommendations to Government as to how to alleviate the NEET problem. It comes as a painful reminder that as Labour contemplate ditching Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, his administration is only just getting to grips with some problems, two years after their landslide victory.

NEETs Problem

As the ONS has today announced. There are now over a million young people not in education, employment or training. This represents a steady rise since 2021 and is higher as a percentage of young people than anytime since before the pandemic.

Combined with unemployment hitting 5% in between January and March, it signals a weakness in the labour market which is worrying the Government. For context unemployment last exceeded 5% at the height of COVID and exceeded 8% in the aftermath of the financial crash in 2011.

During this morning’s press conference. Milburn stated that the NEET problem has been decades in the making. Citing declines over the last decade in low and medium skilled jobs, Saturday jobs, roles in hospitality, apprenticeship starts and entry level jobs he paints a bleak picture for young people looking for work. All this before any impact from the “AI revolution” is felt.

Alan Milburn’s Potential Recommendations

Speaking on a media round today, Milburn suggested that some historic Labour policies may be on the chopping block in his recommendations coming later this year.

On the Today Programme, when asked if he would ask the Government to “think again” on the rise in employer national insurance and the increase of the minimum wage, he said: “Yes, I am … Every employer that I talk to, they will say the same thing. There’s no doubt that the changes that were made a couple of years ago have had an impact on employers.”

On Times Radio he said: “Well, certainly every employer that we spoke to raised these issues as real concerns, the minimum wage. No employer really wants to be paying poverty wages to young people, that’s not what you come across.”

During his press conference, he cited mental health issues as a new and growing issue among NEETs but dismissed that these claims were false. He praised young people’s effort but cites the vicious cycle of a lack of demand for entry level roles leading to long term unemployment. Hinting at the need for cross government reforms he cited failures in schools, the NHS and the welfare system all spending more money dealing with the NEET problem than on preventing it.

Final Thoughts

Listening to an articulate, coherent diagnosis of a serious problem in the UK labour market, one can’t help but wonder why Labour did not arrive in Government with this diagnosis to hand and remedies ready to implement. Milburn’s deliver also harks back to the hyper competent media training of the Blair era. Careful to acknowledge the concerns and counter arguments of voters but confident in his narrative; Milburn’s performance is a stark contrast to the Starmer era’s muddled missions and milestones, timid delivery and cack-handed comms.  

As Westminster holds it’s breath, for June 18^th and the potential end of the Starmer era, Labour may take on Milburn’s recommendations, but they must take on his competence.

Miles is the Editor of ChamberUK. Our parliamentary journal.

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• Photo Credit:
  • Alan Milburn: UK Government
  • Number 10: RachelH_
  • Job Centre sign: Sunolafjagtenben-hur
  • Image Composition: ChatGPT