"You have to work 10 times harder to work for a role that 10 years ago you could have got very easily straight out of university. It's quite upsetting because I've worked really hard for the last three years to achieve a 2:1 just to be rejected for not having experience."
"You've got the hospitality and retail sector struggling, difficulty in entry points in the labour market, the cost of employing young people. These factors contribute to the challenging employment landscape for young people seeking work in London and across the UK."
Youth unemployment in the UK has reached its highest level in over a decade, with London experiencing a 22.5% unemployment rate among 16-24 year-olds, the second highest in the UK after the North East. Recent ONS data shows 125,000 young Londoners were unemployed in the last quarter of 2025, representing a 22,000 person increase year-on-year. Young graduates report needing significantly more experience and qualifications than previous generations to secure entry-level roles. Factors contributing to this crisis include struggling hospitality and retail sectors, limited entry points into the labour market, and high costs of employing young people. Many graduates reject lower-skilled positions in retail or hospitality, viewing them as offering no career progression, leading some to claim universal credit while continuing to search for suitable employment.
Read at www.bbc.com
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