We’ll cut Labour’s ‘Jobs Tax’ in half for young Brits to get them into work, Kemi vows – as she reveals new rescue plan

7 comments 7 Next KEMI Badenoch will slash Labour’s “Jobs Tax” in half for young people to help get them into work. The Tory leader will unleash a rescue plan for people aged 21 to 24 years-old allowing them to get one foot on the career ladder. Kemi Badenoch will slash the “Jobs Tax” in half for young people to help get them into work Credit: Getty Jobs csar Alan Milburn will soon publish a report on youth inactivity Credit: PA Advertisement Youth unemployment has soared to its highest level since 2014 with more than one million young people not earning or learning. The starting cost for the move will be £3.2 billion but this will drop by nearly a billion pounds after fewer pay-outs on benefits and higher tax revenues. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. Ms Badenoch told the BBC: “Young people have a much worse problem than everybody else. I’ve talked about the unemployment that’s skyrocketing. “We’ve got to fix that. There’s a graduate recruitment crisis, and if young people don’t get a job early, that impacts their lifetime earnings.” read more on politics READY TO CHUMBA? Andy to become first PM to attend Brits 30yrs after Prescott was drenched HEALEY OF FORTUNE When the 2026 Budget is: Date and predictions for John Healey's statement Lifetime earnings for a young person drop by £52,000 but it goes up to £293,000 for those who are out of work or education between 18 and 24. The intervention to help young people comes as she addresses the party faithful in Birmingham tomorrow for the second time as leader. She has vowed to halve the employers National Insurance on young people from 15 per cent to 7.5 per cent in the first stage of their rescue effort for young people. The party say there are 60,000 more young people labelled as NEETs – not in education, employment or training – than when Labour came to power in July 2024. Advertisement Most read in The Sun HEALTH UPDATE Christa Pike is awake & speaking 6 days after botched execution, lawyers say ROYAL GP 'MURDER' Doctor 'murdered at home while hosting sleepover' was GP for Royal Family POUR CHOICES Thieves steal 500kg of grapes from vineyard as year's worth of wine taken 'LAVISH LIFESTYLE' 'Couple stole £5m of school fees and used it as their own piggy bank' The move to slash national insurance will cost £2.3 billion with the part saying its fully funded. Labour imposed a national insurance raid at their first Budget which hit business for an eye-watering £25 billion. All earnings for young people earning more than £50,270 will face the standard rate with the cut helping those starting in the work place. The move will allow businesses to hold on to more of their cash amounting to £1,545 on average for every young worker. The move would save bosses £1,484 for youngsters on the National Living Wage and £1,875 for the age cohort earning more than £30,0000. Advertisement The announcement comes as Andy Burnham awaits a review into youth inactivity written by Labour grandee Alan Milburn to land on his desk. His recommendations are set to include mandatory work experience placements starting in primary school to give kids a taste of work. The ex-Health Secretary will also call for hundreds of thousands of youngsters with mild anxiety, depression and ADHD to be given immediate support. He sees this as stopping people becoming “trapped in the benefits system” instead of languishing for months or years without a diagnosis. Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith added: “Labour are destroying the future of our young people. Advertisement “Their Jobs Tax, employment red tape and minimum wage hikes have seen an explosion in the cost of employing a young worker. We will fix that.” John Foster, from the CBI, said: “Businesses want to give young people their first step on the jobs ladder — but right now it is simply too expensive to hire. “The Conservatives are right to focus on cutting those costs, because if you want more jobs you have to give firms a reason to create them. “But the bigger prize would be lowering the point at which employers start paying National Insurance, cutting the cost of entry-level jobs across the board and giving businesses more confidence to take a chance on young people.” RECOMMENDED STORIES But a Labour party spokesman said: “This is yet more fantasy economics from the Tories. Advertisement “Kemi Badenoch pretends to be on the side of young people but her party allowed nearly one million of the next generation to be locked out of work or training. “It’s no surprise her Shadow Chancellor wants another unfunded tax cut given he co-wrote Liz Truss’ mini-Budget that crashed the economy. The Tories can never be trusted with Britain’s public finances or the life chances of young people again.” 7 comments 7