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UKH decries increasing costs after youth inactivity report

The findings – which were released yesterday – suggested that opportunities for young people were shrinking, with one-in-six 16 to 24 year olds set to be NEET (not in education, employment or training) within five years if no interventions are made.

As reported by the BBC, recent official figures show that one million young people already hold this economic status, with the review’s author, Alan Milburn, warning that “we are at risk of a lost generation”.

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In response, the chief executive of UKH, Allen Simpson, said: “This interim report is clear sighted analysis of how significantly increasing employment costs directly reduces job opportunities, particularly for young people.

“The rapid loss of around 100,000 hospitality jobs after the 2024 Budget and the increase to employer NICs was the canary in the coal mine and should have been recognised as such by the Government.”

The final report – which will be published at a later date – will present Milburn’s suggestions for solutions to the crisis.

However, Simpson noted that for UK Hospitality “the solution is to reduce the cost of employment for hospitality businesses.

“As the biggest youth employer and driver of social mobility, thousands of job opportunities can be unlocked as a result. The Government needs to make it economically beneficial to employ young people once again.”

According to information from the trade body (released in 2025), the hospitality industry is the largest employer of young people in the UK, with almost 39% of its workforce aged 16-24.

Due to a series of government-imposed cost hikes at the beginning of April, 64% of on-trade businesses said that they would have to cut jobs, as Harpers reported.

Simpson concluded: “As Alan Milburn has said, there needs to be a shift towards getting more people work ready. We agree wholeheartedly, and already have in place supported pathways into work, like the Hospitality Skills Passport, which directly helps people who are out of work into hospitality jobs.

“Utilising this kind of pre-employment training is critical, as well as delivering reform of the Apprenticeship Levy to allow employers to more effectively use their levy funds to support this work.”

The full report is avaliable here.

• Jobs
• uk hospitality
• costs
• unemployment
• Young people
• NEET