Every few months, a new headline appears promising to “get Britain building” or “help people onto the housing ladder.” It sounds positive — who doesn’t want more homes, more ownership, more opportunity?
But there’s one truth that cuts through the noise: you can’t get on the housing ladder if you can’t get on the job ladder.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’ Labour Market Overview, October 2025, unemployment has risen to a four-year high of 4.8%, with 1.737 million people now looking for work. Vacancies have fallen for the 39th consecutive quarter, down to 717,000, the lowest since the Covid lockdowns (ONS, Oct 2025). Pay growth has also stalled, increasing by only 4.7%, barely keeping pace with inflation (Reuters, 14 Oct 2025).
Meanwhile, the number of long-term sick has started to rise again — another sign of a country under strain. Beneath these numbers lies a simple, painful reality — it’s getting harder to find a job in Britain, especially for young people.
Last summer my son graduated from Bristol University with a degree in Economics. He spent over a year applying for jobs, confident that his education and determination would lead somewhere. A year later, exhausted and demoralised, he left the UK to work abroad — not for adventure, but because he couldn’t find a break here.
He’s one of many young people quietly slipping away — not chasing dreams, but escaping frustration.
The Cost-of-Hiring Shock
The UK once had a proud reputation for creating jobs — maybe not always glamorous, but plentiful. That was our strength.
Now, we’re systematically destroying that advantage.
Over the past year, a series of decisions by the Labour Government have created what can only be described as a cost-of-hiring shock. Increases in employer National Insurance Contributions, higher minimum wages, rising business rates, and layers of new regulation have made it significantly more expensive — and riskier — to take someone on.
Large corporations are also struggling to absorb those costs. Small businesses — the backbone of our high streets — just simply cannot. Many are cutting hours, freezing recruitment, or quietly closing.
It’s not ideology; it’s arithmetic. When you make it too expensive to employ people, businesses stop employing people.
A Country Running on Empty
The impact is visible everywhere. The number of over-65s in work is at a record high — the Centre for Ageing Better reports it has nearly tripled since 2000 — while youth employment has slumped. Older workers are staying in the labour market longer, propping up an economy that’s failing to make space for the next generation.
At the same time, the Labor government are wanting to build houses at breakneck speed, eating into green space, and calling it progress. But what’s the point of more homes if fewer people can afford to live in them?
Without stable employment, mortgages, savings, and family security are all out of reach. We’re treating symptoms — not the cause.
The Fiscal Timebomb
Rising unemployment doesn’t just hurt families — it blows a hole in the public finances.
As Matthew Lynn rightly pointed out in The Telegraph, Labour only has itself to blame for the rise in unemployment — and the fiscal mess that comes with it. Every missing job means the Treasury collects less tax and pays out more in benefits. That’s less money for schools, hospitals, and local services, and more strain on an already fragile NHS.
The result is a dangerous feedback loop: higher welfare bills, weaker growth, and mounting pressure to raise taxes — the very thing that pushes employers to cut back further.
It’s not just inefficient; it’s self-defeating.
Getting Back to Basics
We don’t need another glossy strategy or political slogan. We need to restore the link between work, dignity, and opportunity — the foundation that holds everything else together.
That means supporting the local businesses that hire locally, investing in skills and entry-level training, and making sure every major development brings not just houses, but jobs to sustain them. It means understanding that the answer isn’t always more spending — sometimes, it’s removing the friction that stops employers from hiring and young people from progressing.
Most of all, it means remembering that growth isn’t built on property — it’s built on people. Because until we fix the first rung, every other ladder — housing, prosperity, ambition — will stay out of reach.
Is Education the silver bullet?
I’ve always believed education can change lives. But what message are we sending to our young people when they study hard, graduate, and still can’t find a place in the workforce?
They’re not asking for handouts — just a fair shot.
If we continue to ignore the warning signs, we’ll lose more of our homegrown talent to other countries that see their value. But if we act now — by rebuilding confidence in our local economy, cutting the cost of hiring, and creating real routes into work — we can turn things around.
It’s time to get the fundamentals right.
Because without opportunity, no amount of housebuilding will build a future worth staying for.
