Starting out: Boosting youth employment in local labour markets

Posted on 3 June 2026 by Jon FitzmauriceDivya JyotiAlice MartinMartin QuinnBeth SuttillPeter WattEmelia WilliamsJessica Redmond

Young white man with glasses looking out to sea

The number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) has surpassed a million for the first time since 2013. At the same time, opportunities in the labour market have severely declined.

Addressing this problem is complex. For every young person not learning or earning, there is a unique story which is shaped by their individual circumstances, personal experiences, where they live, and wider structural challenges that can limit their ability to enter and progress in work.

The Government has responded by announcing a series of major youth employment initiatives and commissioning the Milburn Review to identify the factors driving the rise in the NEET numbers.

To inform these initiatives and provide policy recommendations, this briefing by the Work Foundation and Lancaster University – in partnership with Liverpool City Council – examines how local labour markets, young people’s experiences, and employer behaviours shape NEET rates, drawing on national data and case studies from Morecambe and Liverpool.

Key findings

The UK has entered a ‘youth employment drought’: Analysis of Adzuna job vacancy data shows ‘starter’ jobs – vacancies that would be accessible for someone entering the workforce for the first time – have fallen by 49% over the last decade. While total vacancies have fallen in recent years, the decline in starter jobs has been 1.6 times faster than for other jobs in the last 12 months (8.1% compared to 12.8%).
Where you live shapes your employment prospects: Young people’s chances of finding work varies significantly depending on where they live – there are six young people aged 16-24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the North East for every starter job vacancy, compared to a national average of three to one
Barriers to finding work in the towns and cities of North West of England: in Morecambe, focus group participants described feeling geographically isolated due to a complicated transport system, and in Liverpool, participants described challenges in their neighbourhoods which created a reluctance to engage with systems and institutions.
The long-term impact of challenges in education and training: Across both locations, young people described school and college as a site of disruption and frustration, instead of a stable and supportive route into adulthood and employment.
The role of local and national stakeholders in overcoming tricky transitions: In places like Morecambe and Liverpool, educational institutions, support systems, and employers are struggling to keep up with the needs of the growing numbers of young people who are experiencing complex and intertwined challenges.

Figure: The number of available ‘starter’ jobs has fallen dramatically

The number of available starter jobs has fallen dramatically