UK faces 'economic catastrophe, moral failure' over youth unemployment: Premier

Writing in The Times newspaper, Burnham called on the government to "invest in the success of our young people" rather than "pay for failure through the benefits system."

"Benefits will become the backstop, not the starting point," he wrote in an opinion article published Monday.

Burnham also said a long-awaited review of young people and work would be published next month, pledging to take its recommendations "seriously."

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, nearly 1 million people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training.

Around 39% of them are unemployed, while the remaining 61% are economically inactive, meaning they are not seeking work, the figures showed.

Burnham attributed the crisis to several factors, including two years of COVID-19 lockdowns, social media, an education system focused on university education, limited job opportunities and failures by previous governments.

He argued that social media erodes young people's "confidence and sense of belonging."

"This is an economic catastrophe and a moral failure. And it must change," he wrote.

Burnham criticized the current welfare system, arguing that it often provides financial support without offering young people a route into employment.

"Today, the welfare system provides an assessment, a payment and, after that, goodbye," he wrote.

"Too often there is no support, no offer of skills and no opportunity to get a job."

He said the government's approach should shift toward identifying young people's ambitions and providing the assistance needed to achieve them, rather than beginning with an assessment of benefit entitlement.

"The safety net will always be there for those who cannot work. But if someone can work with the right help, the government has a duty to do everything in its power to make that happen," Burnham said.