Next boss warns over ‘dramatic fall’ in UK entry-level jobs

The boss of Next has sounded the alarm about a “dramatic fall” in the number of entry-level jobs in the UK and its impact on youth unemployment, saying the retailer now receives twice as many applicants for each role than two years ago. Lord Wolfson said the clothing and homeware chain, where he has been chief executive since 2001, typically received 10 applications for every job in its shops in 2024 but that number has now risen to 19. “That doubling of applicants for shop jobs is indicative of just how big the crisis is in youth unemployment at the moment,” he told the BBC . Wolfson’s comments came as a report commissioned by the government is expected to find that Labour has failed to tackle the soaring number of people not in education, employment or training (Neet) and must launch a “system reset” involving a fresh attempt to overhaul health and disability benefits. Alan Milburn, who is leading a review into why almost a million young people are Neet, said ministers had so far responded with a series of disjointed jobs programmes, rather than a cohesive strategy. Wolfson said a ban on zero-hours contracts coming in from next year, which is included in the government’s Employment Rights Act , would make hiring more difficult. The government says the contracts are “exploitative” and argues its legislation ends “one-sided flexibility” by making companies provide a “baseline” of security and predictability for staff. …