The chief executive of fashion and homewares retailer Next has issued a stark warning about a deepening crisis in youth unemployment, citing a sharp decline in entry-level job opportunities across the UK economy.
Doubling of applicants for store roles
Lord Simon Wolfson, a Conservative peer, revealed that the number of applicants for each vacancy in Next stores has nearly doubled over the past year, rising from 10 per role two years ago to 19 today. He described this as indicative of a severe problem facing young people seeking work.
In an interview with the BBC's Big Boss programme, Lord Wolfson said: 'You can really see a dramatic fall in entry-level opportunities. In our stores just two years ago we had 10 applicants for every single job vacancy in our shops - that's high. Today, that figure is at 19. I think that doubling of applicants for shop jobs is indicative of just how big the crisis is in youth unemployment at the moment.'
Rising costs and economic stagnation blamed
Lord Wolfson attributed the decline in starter jobs to increased employment costs and sluggish economic growth. He pointed specifically to last year's rise in national insurance contributions and increases to the national minimum wage, which he said had pushed up the cost of labour and 'has to be reversed'.
However, he stressed that the more fundamental issue is the lack of overall economic expansion: 'If you've got fewer jobs, then the people who suffer the most are those with the least experience.'
Retail and hospitality sectors have been particularly hard hit by rising unemployment, official figures show. Nearly one in six young people aged 16 to 24 were out of work in the first three months of 2026, the highest level since 2015.
Employment Rights Act criticised
The Next boss also criticised the Government's Employment Rights Act, which introduces new protections for workers, including the right to guaranteed hours over zero-hour contracts and restrictions on rejecting flexible working requests. He described these measures as 'restrictions on flexible part-time working' and warned they would lead to fewer hours being offered, including during peak periods like Christmas.
'That's going to be bad news for our colleagues who want the extra hours, particularly students ... and bad news for our customers because service won't be as good,' he told the BBC.
Next reported a pre-tax profit of £1.16 billion in its latest financial year, with sales up 11% year-on-year.
AI threat to youth employment
Separately, John Caudwell, the billionaire founder of Phones4u, warned that artificial intelligence would exacerbate youth unemployment, likening its impact to a 'tsunami'. He argued that young people without trade skills such as plumbing or electrical work would become increasingly unemployable.
Alice Martin, head of research at Lancaster University's Work Foundation, said: 'Young people are entering one of the toughest labour markets in years, facing intense competition for a shrinking number of entry-level jobs. Retail and other sectors are changing rapidly, with more online sales and fewer staff needed on the shop floor. That has contributed to a sharp fall in vacancies, leaving many young people facing repeated rejection as they try to enter work.'
She added that the ban on exploitative zero-hour contracts was overdue and argued that blaming current hiring trends on reforms not yet in force was misplaced.
