Twenty-seven young migrants are hired for every British youngster as youth worklessness 'fuelled' by soaring non-EU immigration, analysis reveals

By SOPHIE CHURCH - POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 22:01, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 22:11, 27 May 2026 Mass immigration is directly fueling the crisis for young people trying to find work, new research reveals. Young migrants are snapping up three times as many jobs as young Brits – with 27 migrants from outside the EU hired for every British youngster. And while the young British workforce has grown by less than one per cent since 2020, the number of non-EU youth on the UK payroll has increased by 355 per cent in that time, according to the research from Centre for Social Justice. The revelations come as Labour on Thursday will be blasted for failing to tackle youth unemployment in the UK, which has skyrocketed under Keir Starmer. Alan Milburn, commissioned by the Government to review soaring levels of unemployment, will on Thursday warn ministers Britain is 'at risk of a lost generation'. And the think tank's research now proves young migrants are taking up roles which could otherwise have been offered to young Brits. Between 2024 and 2025, the number of non-EU under-25s on payrolls increased by 33,200, while the number of UK-nationals of the same age fell by 32,200. This is despite almost one million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK currently not in education, employment or training ('NEET'). Alan Milburn, commissioned by the Government to review soaring levels of unemployment, will on Thursday warn ministers Britain is 'at risk of a lost generation' Young migrants are snapping up three times as many jobs as young Brits – with 27 migrants from outside the EU hired for every British youngster And the research shows that migrants are mostly taking entry-level positions despite Mr Milburn saying on Thursday that the first rung of the career ladder is 'simply out of reach' for young Brits. Non-EU workers of all ages nearly doubled in retail and hospitality roles between January 2020 and December 2025 for instance, while UK nationals in such posts fell by more than a quarter of a million. Reform UK shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf said last night that British workers are 'being pushed to the back of the queue while mass immigration continues'. He added: 'Young Brits should be first in line for jobs, training and opportunities in their own country, not forced to compete against record levels of imported labour.' Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said: 'Young British people are being locked out of the labour market as immigration into entry-level work continues at scale. Mass immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy. 'Labour must go further and reform indefinite leave to remain before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon reform altogether. The window is closing and they know it. 'The next Conservative Government will introduce a binding annual immigration cap, close the loopholes that let temporary visa holders stay indefinitely and tighten and extend the conditions for ILR.  'We want a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all. But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to do any of it.' And Joe Shalam, policy director at the Centre for Social Justice, said: 'Starter roles are simply vanishing across the jobs market, made worse of course by rising costs for employers. 'Protecting Britain from under-cut labour is an essential first step to improving the pay, conditions and training opportunities for British young people.' The think tank is now calling on ministers to introduce a tax cut for businesses hiring young people worth 30 per cent of their salary. It also suggests restricting benefits for young people with less severe mental health conditions and requiring employers to advertise vacancies to the UK workforce before offering roles through work visa schemes. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.