Over a third of British employers have reduced the number of entry-level jobs open to younger workers over the past year due in part to increased use of artificial intelligence and other forms of automation, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Almost half of larger employers said they had fewer vacancies than a year ago, according to the survey for Lancaster University’s Work Foundation.
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“Young people are entering one of the toughest labour markets in years, facing intense competition for a shrinking number of entry-level jobs and fewer opportunities to get a secure foothold in work,” Work Foundation Director Ben Harrison said.
- 36% of firms said they had reduced the number of entry-level jobs, ranging from 24% of small businesses to 48% and 46% of medium and larger employers
- 24% of small firms said AI and automation had lowered the number of jobs available, rising to 58% and 60% of larger firms
- 73% of employers said it was harder for young people to find work than five years ago
- Data comes from a Survation survey of 1,001 businesses for the Work Foundation, conducted from May 7 to May 20
- A U.K. government report in May warned of a risk of a “lost generation” of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)
- More than 1 million people aged 16-24 were counted as NEET in the first quarter of 2026, the most since late 2013
- The latest official data on NEETs is due on Thursday
- Overall job vacancies in the three months to July were the lowest since February-April 2021 at 707,000, according to official figures
- Job website Adzuna said on Monday that the number of roles in July seeking graduates in their job description was down 49% from a year earlier
- The Confederation of British Industry on Tuesday urged the government to reverse some payroll tax rises in October’s budget and scale back a planned tightening of employment laws to tackle youth unemployment
(Reporting by David MillikenEditing by William Schomberg)
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