LONDON — Rising youth unemployment has created a division within the UK government over the pace of implementing its manifesto commitment to equalize the minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds with that of workers aged 21 and over. The Labour government pledged to eliminate the lower youth rate but did not specify a timeline for doing so.

The government recently accepted a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission to increase the main minimum wage rate by 4.1% to £12.71 and the youth rate by 8.5% to £10.85. Earlier this year, ministers revised their guidance to the commission to prioritize overall employment rates over youth-specific metrics, a move seen as signaling caution on accelerating youth wage parity.

Treasury minister Torsten Bell defended the government’s approach, citing the Low Pay Commission’s findings. "If you look at what the Low Pay Commission said in their annual report, they didn’t find evidence that previous increases in the minimum wage for young people had had an effect on their employment." He added, "We’re committed to our manifesto that we stood on and we will deliver it. But that manifesto did not set out the timeline."

Business Secretary Peter Kyle is understood to believe that now is not the time to grant 18- to 20-year-olds the full minimum wage, reflecting concerns within parts of government about potential impacts on hiring in sectors with thin profit margins. Some officials privately hope the Low Pay Commission will propose a smaller youth wage increase in its next recommendation, due in October for the 2027 financial year.

A government-backed report found youth unemployment is costing the UK more than £125 billion annually, with over one million young people neither working nor studying—the highest level in more than a decade. The Low Pay Commission stated last month that it had seen no robust evidence linking higher youth wage rates to worsening employment outcomes: "While the commission recognises that labour market outcomes for young people have deteriorated over the past two years, we are not aware of any robust evidence that higher youth rates have contributed to these falls."

Joanne Thomas, general secretary of Usdaw, said: "We are deeply concerned by voices within the government suggesting that Labour’s manifesto commitment to end minimum wage rip-off youth rates should not be delivered in full. We are clear that the general election manifesto is for the lifetime of this parliament, and that is when the policy should be delivered."