Jobs for Beginners in the UK Getting More and More, Young People Scramble for Jobs

Next store in the UK. The number of applicants for the store's job in the retail chain rose from 10 to 19 people per vacancy. (Photo: Christopher Thomond - The Guardian)

LONDON - It's getting harder to find entry-level jobs in Britain. Next boss Lord Wolfson said the number of applicants for store jobs at his retail chain had risen from 10 per vacancy in 2024 to 19 today.

Quoted from The Guardian, Tuesday, May 26, Wolfson said the surge in applicants showed the great pressure on young people who had just entered the job market.

"The doubling of job applicants for shops shows how big the youth unemployment crisis is today," Wolfson told the BBC.

The warning comes as a government-commissioned report is expected to say Labour failed to tackle a spike in young people classed as NEET - neither in education, employment or training.

Alan Milburn, the study's leader, said the government had so far only responded with separate work programs, not a coherent strategy.

Wolfson also highlighted the ban on zero-hour contracts which comes into force next year via the Employment Rights Act, a new law in the UK which gives workers greater working time certainty and protection.

Zero-hour contracts are employment contracts without a guaranteed fixed working hours. Workers are only called when needed.

The British government called the contract exploitative because it left workers without certainty. The new rules will require companies to provide a basis for security and more predictable working hours.

However, Wolfson believes the rule could make recruitment more difficult, especially in the retail sector where staff needs are up and down sharply.

"You can't afford to have the same number of people in the store in February as you do around Christmas," he said.

He also asked the government to cancel the increase in national insurance premiums paid by employers, as well as the minimum wage increase. According to him, the labor market can only improve if the economy grows.

"If the number of jobs is less, the most affected are those who have the least experience, namely young people," said Wolfson.

The government rejected that view. A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said cutting the wages of low-wage workers was not the answer amid global uncertainty. The government said the minimum wage increase helped more than 200,000 young workers.

The Guardian reported that Wolfson's position was highlighted because he received a salary package of more than 7 million pounds last year and had the opportunity to earn up to 9.27 million pounds this year.

Next also raised its full-year profit forecast to 1.2 billion pounds after first-quarter sales rose 6.2 percent.

Technology adds pressure. Next is increasingly using automation, including self-scanning lockers for returning goods. This means that jobs that used to be the gateway for young people into the workforce are now getting narrower.

TUC, the British trade union confederation, denies that the new working time rules will damage seasonal jobs. According to the TUC, regular hours contracts will be calculated based on a period of several months so that busy and quiet periods can be leveled.