‘I’ve applied for 200 jobs and only had one interview’

“You’ll spend anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours on an application and you’ll be rejected within an hour of submitting your application,” explains Lily-Rose Bisson from Leeds.

The 20-year-old has completed his GCSEs (A-Levels) and previously worked two jobs. Even so, the five-month job search is starting to feel like it will never end.

“Every application is reviewed by AI, and if you don’t have the keywords they are looking for, it will be eliminated. I once received an email 20 minutes after applying saying ‘we are not processing your application.'”

“I’d say maybe twice out of 100 applications I’ll get a response from a real person. Maybe 15 times I’ll get a response from an automated response. The rest is nothing.”

Ms. Bisson submitted nearly 200 applications but received only one interview. The majority of the responses he received came from automated AI bots, which job seekers reported were increasingly being used by employers to screen applications.

He is one of more than a million young people in the UK who are not in employment, education or training; a group called “Neets” by experts. This label covers both people aged 16-24 who are unemployed and looking for work, as well as people who are “economically inactive”, that is, people who are not actively looking for opportunities.

Official data on Thursday revealed the number of Neets in the UK had reached 1.01 million; This is the highest level in more than 12 years.

The report’s publication coincides with the publication of a government-commissioned report by Alan Milburn into young people and work in the UK.

Speaking on Thursday, the former Labor Health Secretary said: “This is not a failure of young people. This is a failure of a system that is stuck in the past. Whether it’s education, health or social care, this system is failing to enable them to participate in the labor market.”

“Instead, it often ends up putting young people on a path to a life based on benefits rather than work. This should be the government’s priority. “This should be the priority for all of us.”

The government’s flagship policy to tackle youth economic inactivity is the ‘youth guarantee’, which was announced in September last year and aims to provide anyone aged 18 to 21 in England with help finding apprenticeships, training, accessing training opportunities or finding employment.

It will also guarantee a six-month paid work placement to anyone who has been Neet for more than 18 months, helping them prepare for a full-time job. But those who refuse risk losing their benefits.

Ms Bisson says she is enjoying studying film at A Level and is aiming to move into the creative sector. But, he says: “This is not an environment where you can pick and choose what work you want to do.”

“If you are looking for a job and something comes up you have to take it, if you don’t then they may reject your offer. [universal] credit, I think this is crazy.

Ms Bisson was supported in her job search journey by Spear, a youth employment program that supports young people to eliminate barriers to work. Approximately 70 percent of those who benefit from free services start working or studying within a year.

Iona Ledwidge, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Alan Milburn rightly highlighted that the UK currently spends 25 times more on youth benefits than it does supporting them into work. We believe there is a gap between where many unemployed young people are and where employers need them before they are ready to work.”

Mr Milburn writes in his interim report that the UK’s youth unemployment crisis is costing the country around £125bn a year, more than the country spends on education and almost twice its defense budget. This amount takes into account higher health and welfare expenses as well as lost tax revenue.

The report also finds a decline in entry-level jobs, with 1.6 million fewer low- and middle-skilled job positions available than in previous decades.

Responding, Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden said: “I commissioned this report because we cannot afford to lose a generation of young people, and I welcome Alan Milburn’s vital work which reveals the scale of the problem we now face and the root causes of youth unemployment.

“I will work across government, with employers, charities and young people to create real change to ensure more young people are not left behind but earn or learn. I look forward to working with Alan as he sets out his final recommendations later this year.”

Mr Milburn also noted an increase in mental health problems linked to social media. He warned of a “bedroom generation”, with concerns linked to mobile phone use increasing economic inactivity among young people.

The proportion of young people experiencing mental health problems has risen sharply in recent years; The number of people who are NEET and inactive due to health problems has also increased by 52 percent since 2019.

“During key years of our development, we had to spend all our time alone in our bedrooms. We missed out on opportunities for normal childhood,” says Lily-Rose, who has revealed she has struggled with mental health issues in the past.

“So yes, it’s a ‘bedroom generation,’ but we’d rather be outside.”