The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has warned that soaring business costs have gutted the entry-level jobs that once gave young people their first step into work, as government figures confirm the number of NEETs (young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training) in the UK has topped one million.
Bira was responding to the publication of Alan Milburn's interim review into the NEET crisis, which found that without urgent action the number of young people not in employment, education or training could rise to 1.25 million within five years.
“The harsh reality is that retail is not creating the entry-level jobs it once did,” said Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira. “Increases in National Insurance contributions have significantly raised the cost of employing part-time workers, business rates keep rising by more than inflation, and energy costs have increased sharply. All of these pressures have eroded profit margins, and the result is fewer opportunities for young people in retail.”
Goodacre welcomed elements of the review but urged the government to ensure any new employment schemes are straightforward for small businesses to access. "We welcome incentives to employ people who are long-term unemployed and apprentices. But to be truly impactful, these schemes need to be really easily accessible," he said.
The Milburn review found that entry-level jobs have been in sharp decline for years, with 1.6 million fewer low and medium-skilled roles in the economy, apprenticeship starts among young people down 35 per cent over the last decade, and Saturday jobs in freefall.