It comes after the latest figures showed the number of young people not in education, employment or training fell by 30,000 in the last quarter, but remained 30,000 higher year on year.
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There were 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 outside education, employment or training between April and June 2026, equivalent to 13% of the age group.
UKHospitality chief executive Allen Simpson said the year on year rise reinforced the need to stimulate the job market for young people.
He said: “The quickest and easiest way to do that is to reduce the cost of employment, which will drive job creation and opportunities for young people.
“Hospitality is one of the only sectors that has the ability to create those jobs in every postcode, but the damage of Government policy in the past two years has resulted in hospitality shedding 100,000 jobs.”
Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) chief executive Michael Kill said the figures showed the Government was creating a “false economy” by increasing employment costs while also needing to spend money helping young people back into work.
He said: “Hospitality and the night time economy have historically been the front door to employment for generations of young people. When you make employing someone more expensive, particularly at entry level, businesses inevitably employ fewer people.”
Kill said the Government should reduce the cost of employment rather than “tax first and subsidise later”.
He added: “Give businesses the confidence and headroom to create jobs, and they will. Without that change, we risk turning a youth employment crisis into a long term economic and social failure.”
First jobs
Barons Pub Company managing director Clive Price said young workers under 25 made up more than half of the company’s workforce.
He told The Morning Advertiser (MA): “They are hugely important to our business and I can’t see that changing any time soon.
“It has been a real pleasure over 26 years of running our business that we have employed so many young people and given them their first jobs and a great start in the world of work.”
However, Price said the cost of employing younger workers had risen sharply since 2020, creating a risk that businesses may favour more experienced staff.
He added: “We are finding no problem recruiting young people but clearly someone with experience may be preferable to someone without, and there is a very real problem that young workers won’t be given their first jobs.
“It is deeply frustrating as we are an industry that has been training a large percentage of the nation, providing first jobs, training and a whole heap of transferable skills and yet we are not being backed by Government.”
Training ground
Multi-site operator Tim Skinner said the level of young people not in education, employment or training should “worry all of us”, but said hospitality could be part of the solution.
He told the MA: “Hospitality has always given young people a chance.
“For so many people we’re the first line on their CV. You can walk into a pub with no experience, get your first shift, learn the job, build confidence and very quickly be given real responsibility.”
Skinner also warned against describing hospitality as “low skilled” work.
He said: “Working in a busy pub is one of the most rounded skill sets you can learn.
“You deal with everyone, in every mood and every situation. You learn how to read people, communicate, sell, solve problems, work as a team and think on your feet, usually while you’re under pressure.”
Flexibility warning
Skinner said free apprenticeship training for under 25s was positive, but warned policy risked becoming contradictory if employment became more expensive and less flexible.
He added: “Government says it wants to get young people working, while at the same time making employing people more expensive, more complicated and potentially less flexible.
“If every extra person you employ comes with more cost, more administration and more risk around the hours you may have to guarantee in future, businesses will naturally become more cautious about taking somebody on.
“And who loses out first? The 18 year old looking for their first Saturday shift. The student wanting some work over the summer. The young person who just needs someone to give them a chance.”
JW Lees managing director William Lees-Jones said young workers brought “enthusiasm” to hospitality, but said higher costs had changed the balance for employers.
He told the MA: “It’s now more expensive to recruit younger people and so the risk reward advantage of doing so is less than it used to be.”
Lees-Jones said support could include not increasing the national minimum wage so sharply and creating incentives such as removing national insurance for younger workers.
He added: “Lots of people start in pubs and hotels and then build a career, but it’s hard work and increasingly we can see that it’s one of the few jobs less threatened by AI.”
Symposium Pubs founder Jonny Bramwell said young workers were “absolutely vital” to a successful pub business, with 35% of his workforce aged 17 to 21.
He said hospitality gave young people exposure to different people, trades and life experiences, as well as practical skills.
Bramwell added: “We take most of our team on as first jobs now, as we have excellent capacity from me and my team to train, coach and develop, in all areas from business understanding through to cellar geekery.”
Cost of employment
Allan Simpson said almost £5bn in additional costs over the past year and restrictions around the skills levy were barriers that needed to be addressed.
He added: “Despite year on year growth, the drop in NEETs in the last quarter suggests this could be the start of a downward trend and I look forward to working with the Government to make this a sustained and permanent reduction.”
The figures come ahead of the final report from Alan Milburn’s review into young people and work, which is expected in the autumn.
The Government has previously pointed to a £2.5bn youth employment support package, including a Jobs Guarantee and plans to create almost 1m opportunities to earn or learn.
