Labour must admit its policies have squelched opportunities by jacking up the costs and risks of employing young people, says RUTH SUNDERLAND

Alan Milburn, the Labour statesman who is due next month to produce his report on young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (Neets) is trying to tackle the biggest problem facing the UK economy. So long as we consign a million people aged 16-24 to an economic wilderness where they are unable to start their working lives, we have little chance of prosperity or growth, let alone growth in every postcode.It is a great betrayal of the young. As the Institute of Economic Affairs points out, the likelihood of being Neet is bound up with regional and economic inequality. In North East England, for instance, the Neet rate of 20 per cent is more than twice that of the South West. Factors such as drug use, dysfunctional families and generational unemployment, where no one has had a job for decades, come into play. In towns such as Middlesbrough, where the economy was devastated by the demise of the steel and chemicals industries, around 20 per cent of children are growing up in workless households. Lack of opportunities: The likelihood of being Neet is bound up with regional and economic inequalityThere are six Neets in the north-east for every starter job vacancy, compared with a national average of three. Unlike Andy Burnham, I believe it is pointless to carry on railing about Thatcherite policies in the 1980s. It would also be simplistic to try to draw a straight line between Neet levels and the recent tragic events on Teesside. Most young people in that category are law-abiding and doing their best. But lack of opportunity and hope creates fertile ground for gangs, drugs and violence.The increase in Neets is mainly among young men – the number having risen by 25,000 in the past year. We risk creating a large cohort excluded from the usual milestones of young manhood: buying a house, fatherhood and providing for a family. The potential for disaffection and worse is obvious. Stigmatising youngsters for being Neet would be unhelpful and unjust. Difficulty getting on the career ladder is now affecting young people from middle-class backgrounds. Openings for graduates have fallen off a cliff. A paltry 8,383 were advertised in July, according to job site Adzuna. In the summer of 2017, more than 55,000 graduate roles were being offered. The Government’s main anti-Neet measure, the Jobs Guarantee scheme, is unlikely to do much good. There needs to be a frank discussion about the link between Neets and mental health problems, starting from the premise that purposeful work is positive for psychological well-being. But it will all fail unless the Government admits its policies have squelched opportunities by jacking up the costs and risks of employing young people. Vicious circle? The rise in Nvidia shares, after its results surprised the market, is being taken to mean we can put aside worries of an AI bust. My concern is that it may not be imminent, but it is only a matter of time. The worry, which Nvidia tried to dispel, is ‘circular financing’. This is complex and opaque. In essence, it is the familiar practice of bankrolling your customers – by lending them money, guaranteeing loans or taking equity stakes, so they can buy your products. Nvidia lined up six big Wall Street names, including Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, KKR and Apollo, which are pledging to lend more than $500billion for customers to buy chips and build data centres. It is backstopping a chunk of any losses. It is uneasily reminiscent of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, when banks were discovered to have created cat’s-cradles of debt, much of it lurking off-balance sheet.Michael Burry, the US investor who foresaw the crisis, is talking of a similar disaster brewing now. The Bank for International Settlements, which warned repeatedly of unsustainable debt ahead of the meltdown, says an AI bust could be as disruptive to credit as the sub-prime maelstrom of 2008. Buckle up. Crypto cash Congratulations to the 240 people who made £1million each in gains on crypto in 2024/25, according to HMRC figures. Some 17,600 averaged a gain of £78,000 on bitcoin and its rivals. Good for them. Call me cynical: I am pleasantly surprised all these good citizens declared their profits to the taxman, but wonder how many more did not. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you