Low unemployment figures are masking a generation locked out of real work

Traditional unemployment figures are binary: you are either working or you aren’t. They fail to capture the depth and longevity of employment.

By design, unemployment rates count people in low-paid service work and on zero-hour contracts as “employed,” even when that work is insecure or inconsistent.

As a result, low unemployment can mask a wider crisis of underemployment, zero-hour contracts, and the growth of the contingent workforce.

There is also a “churn and burn” dynamic in contingent workforce recruitment. Young people are often hired through automated systems into low-security roles, only to leave or be let go within a matter of months.

This churn keeps the unemployment percentage low because individuals are technically being rehired quickly, even though there is little stability. Real employment isn’t just a payslip; it’s a career path.

Until we measure retention rates rather than simply counting roles filled, we risk celebrating a hollow victory. Apparent stability in unemployment, Universal Credit, and PIP figures can look positive on paper while concealing persistent insecurity underneath.

At Oleeo, we advocate for looking beyond filled roles to the quality, retention, and suitability of the hire. We need to stop celebrating job quantity and start auditing job quality.

That includes moving away from CV keyword matching, which disproportionately disadvantages younger candidates, and toward potential-based and transferable skills hiring. Without this shift, we risk locking an entire demographic out of the future economy.

Broadly speaking, this points to a recruitment failure. The current job market increasingly demands “ready-made” employees. Applicant tracking systems scan for very specific experience keywords that a 21-year-old simply hasn’t had time to acquire.

When a bright, capable young person is rejected dozens of times because they lack “experience” for an entry-level job, they don’t just remain unemployed; they can become “unemployable” in their own minds.

Over time, this can contribute to a mental health crisis, which may lead directly to PIP claims.

The rising statistics also suggest a lack of understanding of available opportunities. Many young people end up on Universal Credit not because they lack capability, but because they are navigating a job market that is difficult to interpret.

They search for job titles they recognise, get rejected, and assume there is no place for them.

This is a failure of translation. A Gen Z candidate may not know what a “Customer Success Associate” is, but they may already have the communication skills needed to do the job well.

At Oleeo, we address this through tools like Candidate Navigator, which reverse the search process. Instead of forcing candidates to guess the right job title, it allows them to upload a CV and see which roles match their skills.

By cutting through corporate jargon and matching candidates based on what they can actually do, we help validate potential early. If we want to reduce benefit reliance, we need to stop expecting young people to decode internal job titles and start using technology that translates their raw skills into clear, achievable career paths.

A meaningful shift would involve focusing on the quality of hire, including how long someone stays in a role and whether there is a clear career path. Quality means a job that pays a living wage and offers security, helping to transform a young person from a temporary worker into a permanent stakeholder in the organisation and the wider economy.

Quality employment also means hiring for the future, not just the present. Employers should show candidates a clear trajectory at the point of application. If a Gen Z applicant can see that an entry-level service role leads to management or technical specialisation, they are less likely to disengage or drop out of the workforce.

Rather than hiring against a static list of requirements, quality hiring identifies learnability. It brings young people in based on their ability to acquire new skills, ensuring they don’t become obsolete as automation evolves.

Too often, young employees hit a ceiling and leave – or are let go – restarting the unemployment cycle. A quality-focused organisation uses internal mobility tools to rediscover existing staff and match them to new opportunities within the same business. By allowing people to move sideways and upwards more easily, employers can offer the variety Gen Z values without forcing them back into the insecurity of the external job market.

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Charles Hipps is the CEO and Founder of Oleeo

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