Hiring an 18-year-old costs 40% more than it did a decade ago amid warnings that minimum wage increases are fuelling the youth worklessness crisis.

The Telegraph reports that The Tony Blair Institute has urged Labour to offer more tax breaks for businesses that employ younger staff to help some of the million people not in employment, education or training (NEET) find work. A report from the former prime minister’s think tank said the real-term cost of employing 18-year-olds had soared even as economic growth has stalled. The think tank called for new business tax breaks that remove a “cliff edge” of extra costs facing employers who hire an 18-year-old, such as through phasing in employer national insurance contributions throughout workers’ early 20s. It also repeated calls for an “emergency brake on benefits” to stop payments for certain mental health conditions. The think tank said that the minimum wage for an 18-year-old had already climbed from £5.13 to £10.00 between 2015 and 2025. That is equivalent to a 41% increase in real terms, when accounting for inflation.