‘It’s soul-crushing’: young people battle to find any work in bleak jobs market

Chair of UK government review says dramatic changes in labour market risks putting ‘a generation on the scrapheap’

On any given day, Poppy Blackman is engaged in the “soul-crushing” process of applying for a new job, and rarely ever hearing anything back.

The 22-year-old has been unemployed since January 2025 and says she applies to an average of 50 roles a month, using one of four different CVs she has written for different types of jobs and sectors.