What can the Government do to fix youth unemployment?
With a million young people out of work, the prospect of a 'lost generation' looms. But what are George Osborne's options?
How big a problem is youth unemployment?
It’s huge. For the first time since 1986, youth unemployment has passed the million mark. That means around one in five 16- to 24-year-olds is out of work. The latest figures are slightly misleading in one respect, in that a quarter of the unemployed are students looking for part-time work. But 750,000 people without jobs is still an enormous waste of human potential. Ministers are gravely concerned, and fear a backlash from voters if the idea of what Ed Miliband calls a “lost generation” takes hold in the public imagination.