Prospects for new graduates and school leavers look bleak as the number of vacancies falls to the lowest level since Covid, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.

Robert Salter, a Director at the firm, said: “The Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s recently published data for the period to June 2026 look bleak for new graduates and school leavers. The number of official vacancies has fallen to approximately 700,000, which is the lowest level since Covid, and unemployment remains at 4.9%.”

He added: “Young people looking for a job rather than going to university or perhaps opting to extend their studies with a master’s degree will face a real challenge finding employment. Given that the jobs market is a reflection of the strength and weakness of the overall economy, many young people may feel that they have no alternative but to continue in education.”

Robert said: “While this may be an excellent option in many cases, it also comes with real costs. Young people taking out student loans will face an effective ‘tax surcharge’ in the form of student loan repayments of 9% on all of their income above the £25,000 starting threshold for many years after they graduate.”

He added: “Andy Burnham has indicated that the Government is keen to increase the number of apprenticeships, but even if they increase the number of youth apprentices by 50,000 as they have promised, such numbers are unlikely to meaningfully change the wider jobs market overall. Especially as about one million young people between 16-24 are officially classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs.)”

Robert said: “If Andy Burnham and John Healey are serious about addressing the UK’s unemployment and underemployment problems, particularly with young people, they need to have a clear, long-term strategy to drive economic growth in the UK, as simply keeping people in education or promising a few thousand more apprentices are not steps which will alter the UK’s underlying economic weakness.”