Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), has issued a statement in response to the Milburn report’s interim findings that warned the UK is at risk of a “lost generation” of young people due to unemployment.

The report revealed that workplaces across the country are reducing entry-level jobs and apprenticeships, and employers that do hire young people are often unequipped to give them the support they require.

“The first rung of the career ladder may have thinned, but retail continues to provide opportunities for over three-quarters of a million people under 25,” Dickinson said. “As the largest private-sector employer, the industry has an essential role in providing young people with experience, training, and a career path that sets them on the right track for life.”

However, Dickinson said, increasing employment costs and regulations are making it harder than ever to take on new staff. According to BRC statistics, the cost of employing someone in a full-time entry level job rose by 10 per cent last April when the government raised national insurance contributions for employers.

She also suggested that “implementation of aspects of the Employment Rights Act risk limiting more entry level jobs,” adding that “Government must join the dots between tax, red tape, and its efforts to reduce unemployment.”

Earlier in the month, the BRC argued for a delay in implementing the updated nutrient profiling model that has been described by the obesity health alliance “overdue and essential”, government intervention to reduce energy costs for retailers and a review into taxes designed to support recycling, saying they cost retailers more than £2 billion each year.

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