‘Economic catastrophe’: Social media and welfare state ‘to blame’ for youth unemployment Economics Social media and the welfare state are pushing Britain towards an “economic catastrophe” over youth unemployment, a landmark government review has found. Smartphones have “rewired” the brains of young adults and left them trapped in unemployment, former health secretary Alan Milburn has found in an official report commissioned by Sir Keir Starmer. Labour ordered the [...]
King’s Speech shows incremental change is all Starmer knows Opinion Keir Starmer says incremental change won't cut it, yet his King's Speech was nothing but tinkering and rearranging, writes Matthew Bowles.
McDonald’s targets jobless Gen Z with ‘UK’s largest work experience programme’ Hospitality McDonald’s has launched the UK’s largest ever work experience programme in a major recruitment drive that will specifically target the ballooning number of young Brits that are neither working nor in full-time education. The fast-food chain will hand out some 2,500 paid placements to young workers over the age of 16 as part of a [...]
Pizza king points to youth joblessness as restaurant group eyes takeovers April 15, 2026 The boss of restaurant group Bow Street raised concerns over youth joblessness as the firm behind Dim T slipped into an annual loss, but outlined his dealmaking plans. David Page, now the chief executive of the Aim-listed firm, is a former boss of Pizza Express and played a key role in the expansion of Franco [...]
‘I fired the board that fired me’: TGI Fridays boss on restaurant turnaround April 8, 2026 TGI Fridays had its heyday in the 1980s but slumped into administration last year. Its new boss Ray Blanchette tells Felix Armstrong the nostalgic chain can win back Britain after a period in turmoil. “I land at Heathrow and jump in a cab. The plane got in late,” says Ray Blanchette, recalling the day he [...]
Bribing firms to hire us is an insult to young workers like me March 19, 2026 The government’s plans to subsidise companies to hire young workers is a sticking plaster over the self-inflicted wound that is youth unemployment, says Oliver Dean Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, recently announced that the government will launch a £1bn scheme to shift young people away from unemployment and welfare and [...]
Nine in ten hospitality job switchers quit the sector March 13, 2026 Nine in ten workers in hospitality and tourism quit the sector altogether when they switch jobs, as the hiring “churn” drives costs and dampens the industry’s productivity. As many as 87 per cent of hospitality and tourism workers who quit jobs end up leaving the industry for good, while the exit rate stands at 82 [...]
Labour workers rights reforms could backfire for young workers March 12, 2026 Labour’s employment rights reforms could damage opportunities for young workers if the new laws reduce the number of flexible, entry-level roles, the UK’s top retail trade body has warned. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on the government to ensure the implementation of its reforms, which were passed into law in December, doesn’t hamper [...]
John Caudwell: Bring back Saturday jobs to fix youth unemployment March 11, 2026 Spiralling labour costs and regulation have decimated what used to be entry level jobs for teenagers, says John Caudwell I started work young. I grew worms in a box under my mother’s bed to sell to fishermen, traded cigarette packet coupons, knocked on doors selling soap for charity and later ran a small mail-order business [...]
UK jobs market ‘facing sustained shocks’ March 9, 2026 The Labour government is facing a rallying cry to ease the cost burden on businesses to avoid derailing a recovery in the jobs market. The latest jobs report from KPMG and the REC, the professional body for recruiters, showed hiring for permanent roles reaching a stabilising point in February with the pace of declines the [...]