(Bloomberg) — Young Britons in desperate search of a job are increasingly signing up to the military, with the government looking to exploit a trend that could help address both its youth unemployment crisis and depleted armed forces.
A link is emerging between youth joblessness — now at the highest rate in over a decade — and applications being made to the forces. New data shows applications both for the Royal Navy and Air Force at their highest in more than five years, as 16% of 16 to 24-year-olds now hunt for work. Those for the Army have also increased in recent years.
In a video uploaded to social media by the Ministry of Defence in February, a young man explained why he signed up to the Navy. “I started university in 2017 and then I finished during Covid: all the jobs stopped, graduate opportunities stopped so my application went into the Royal Marines,” the unnamed man said, also citing the travel and sporting opportunities as key drivers in his decision.
The dearth of entry-level jobs has been driven by employers paring back hiring to cope with sharp increases to the minimum wage and payroll taxes, just as artificial intelligence is automating key tasks. For the first time, young Britons are more likely to be unemployed than those in the European Union, with almost 1 million out of work or education.
“Military recruitment among young people is primarily driven by the benefits of enlisting when compared to the attractiveness of outside options,” said Hilary Ingham, professor and head of the economics department at Lancaster University.
The shift offers to fill gaps at a time when Britain faces growing threats and demands, from Russian aggression to the need to increase its military presence in the Arctic. The Army has shrunk from more than 110,000 regulars in 1997 to little more than 70,000 today, smaller than at any point since the Napoleonic era.
Military opportunities are now being actively promoted in job centers around the country, with a particular focus on regions with high youth unemployment. The UK launched a trial program in the West Midlands — where 9.6% of 18 to 24-year-olds claim unemployment-related benefits — in which military representatives will help encourage young people to sign up. Last month, it launched a “gap-year” program aimed at giving under-25s experience and training in the military.
Other efforts include a series of advertisement campaigns and a planned service designed to streamline the process. The Ministry of Defence is also in the process of revamping military housing and regularly boasts of the above-inflation pay rise military personnel received last year.
It’s having some success: Over 26% of UK regular forces were under 25 years old, two points higher than before the pandemic, according to the latest armed forces diversity statistics covering the year to October. Almost 75% of all officer intake were 20 to 24-year-olds, up three points from a year ago.
Last year also marked the first time since 2021 that those joining the armed forces outnumbered those leaving. Britain saw net outflows in all but six years between 1999 and 2024, with voluntary departures often the most common reason for leaving.
A defense review last year attributed this “workforce crisis” to “poor recruitment and retention, shoddy accommodation, falling morale, and cultural challenges.” It recommended a small increase to the size of the army, with the government subsequently promising to increase regular troop numbers by just under 3,000 to 76,000 in the next parliamentary term.
That would still be less than in January 2023, when the UK had 78,000 regular soldiers. The size of the Navy and Air Force are also down slightly since then, even as Britain confronts the combined challenges of boosting its presence in the Arctic, preparing to send troops to Ukraine under a potential peace deal and helping protect its personnel, bases and allies in the Middle East from drones and missiles launched by Iran and its proxies.
It’s prompted a shift in messaging from the government, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailing a “new contract to unite the Kingdom,” from “the supply lines to the front lines.”
That approach also means the government is encouraging young people to work in the defense sector more broadly, including new initiatives between universities and defense industries to tackle a shortage of green and digital skills.
The government is putting the armed forces “at the heart of efforts to tackle unemployment,” said Sarah Mills, a professor of human geography at Loughborough University, who described the strategy as a “significant shift.”
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