For 18-year-old Caoimhe, from Middleton, this summer has been far harder than she expected.

After working as a lifeguard from the age of 16, she left the role when she went to university last September. Returning home, she expected to pick up another job, but weeks of searching have brought little success.

“Now that I’m back, I can’t find a job. I’ve been looking across Middleton and Manchester,” she told the Manchester Evening News. Since returning home in mid-May, she estimates she has applied for around 20 jobs.

“I’ve probably applied for twenty jobs and only had like three replies to them but heard nothing else.”

She’s not alone. Finding work has become an increasingly difficult task for young people across Greater Manchester, with many describing months of unanswered applications, lengthy recruitment processes and employers demanding experience they have not had the chance to gain.

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Her experiences reflect a wider trend. More than one million under-25s across the UK are now not in education, employment or training, according to the latest official figures from the House of Commons Library.

In Greater Manchester, the constituency of Blackley and Middleton South has the highest proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming either Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit with a requirement to seek work, at 10.2 per cent.

But the problem is not confined to the region’s traditionally less well off communities. Cheadle, one of Greater Manchester’s most affluent areas, has seen the biggest annual rise in young benefit claimants anywhere in the city-region, with a 35 per cent increase over the past year.

Despite living in very different parts of Greater Manchester, young people from Middleton and Cheadle describe remarkably similar experiences: sending off applications without hearing back, struggling to gain the experience employers want, and feeling that getting a foot on the career ladder has become harder than ever.

For Caoimhe, the biggest obstacle is employers expecting previous experience.

“It’s a really common thing. It’s just so hard to get a job because they want the experience,” she said. “There are so many opportunities, so we’re shocked why we can’t get jobs. They all ask the same questions and I think it’s because of our age and experience.”

Her friend Ava, 19 has never managed to get that first opportunity.

“I’ve never had a job before but couldn’t find a job because everyone wanted experience and they didn’t want to take me,” she said. Instead, she says she has become used to silence from employers.

“I had no responses as well to my job applications and in one they did say they weren’t going to give any feedback. They don’t even reply. It makes me look like an idiot.”

After spending hours filling in application forms, she says the process can become discouraging.

“It discourages me because it’s so much effort to apply and I’m not even going to hear back, so why bother? The application process is so long.”

One application, she recalled, left her believing she was close to securing a job before communication stopped altogether. Now she struggles to understand why employers are reluctant to invest in younger workers.

“I don’t understand why they don’t want us because we are fast learners and we have loads of free time,” she said.

Last week, Graham Stringer MP told the Manchester Evening News he is ‘not surprised’ to see the area having the highest percentage of 18 to 24-year-old claimants of out-of-work benefits – but he admits the figures are ‘concerning’.

“It’s very sad and it looks like it’s going to get worse,” he said. “We always end up in cycles and it’s always the poorest people and the least achieving people [academically] that are most badly hurt.”

Labour veteran Mr Stringer, who has served the Blackley community as MP for 29 years, believes unemployment issues in his constituency stem from the education system. The Labour veteran argues that children who are not supported when they begin to fall behind at primary school often face increasing difficulties in the years ahead.

“Those people with less work experience or less educational achievement are the people first hit,” he added.

He believes there should be additional support for students who fall behind with literacy and numeracy skills at school, to prevent them becoming ‘one of those statistics’ in the unemployment figures in years to come.

In Cheadle, where youth unemployment has risen faster than anywhere else in Greater Manchester over the past year, some people say the uncertainty of the jobs market continues even after securing employment.

Here, Liberal Democrat MP Tom Morrison, Liberal Democrat blames the current Labour government – which he says ‘has been nothing short of shambolic’ when it comes to supporting businesses

The increase to national insurance contributions, he believes, is the key issue driving up youth unemployment. This was introduced in Rachel Reeves’ first budget as Chancellor in 2024, and Mr Morrison says firms who typically hire young adults have been badly hit by the move.

He told the MEN: “The businesses I’m speaking to, the ones that are taking on graduates normally, what they are calling ‘the jobs tax’ – the national insurance contribution rise that the government put in place in the first budget – has really hammered them.

“That’s had an impact on employing young people – graduates mainly… It’s no secret that the government inherited a terrible mess from the last one when it comes to youth unemployment, but this government policy on national insurance contributions has made the mess a catastrophe.”

In Cheadle, Maria, 25, says she would like to move on from her current role but feels unable to risk entering today’s job market.

“I have a job now but don’t want to leave because we know the job market is so bad now,” she said. “It took like four months to get my current job and I had to chase them up. Applying for jobs takes forever.”

Although she would consider another position, she says the lack of opportunities has left her feeling stuck.

“It gives a sense of security. I just wish it was easier because if I could get a job easily now, I would. I feel trapped, there’s absolutely nothing out there and it takes ages and is so competitive.”

For others in Cheadle, the biggest challenge has been getting their first chance. Ellie-May King, 18, spent months applying for jobs online without success.

“I applied for loads of jobs and none of them got back to me,” she said. “I was applying to anything, anything close to me, cleaning jobs and bar jobs.”

From November until March, every application ended the same way. Despite seeing a careers adviser and completing courses to improve her CV, she says it made little difference.

She said: “I was going to a careers adviser who was trying to help me find a job and I was doing courses to try and give me extra things to put on my CV to help, but still didn’t get any responses.”

It was only when she walked into a restaurant and handed in a copy of her CV that things finally changed.

“We sat down and had a chat and she said that I could come another week and start training,” she said.

Now working alongside other young people, she says finally getting a chance has made all the difference.

“It was really nice to get the job and it was really nice to work here. Everyone is young, all the front of house is aged 17 to 22,” she said.

Her colleague and friend, Aimee Maguiness, 18, said handing CVs into businesses face-to-face was the only approach that worked for her.

“It’s always been hard to look for a job but looking for a job on Indeed is so difficult. Not many get back to you at all,” she said. Encouraged by her mum, she began asking businesses directly if they had any vacancies.

“It got to a point where if we were out somewhere, I’d ask if they had a job and that’s how I got my last job, so that’s why I thought to hand my CV in places.”

“I handed in my CV and then came in a couple of days later and then got into training pretty soon. I was really happy and relieved when I got the job as I’ll be going to Uni in September and a lot of my friends work here, so it’s a nice environment to work in.”

While she is now employed, many of her friends are still struggling.

“My friend has finished college and wants to go travelling but she can’t because she can’t find a job. It’s definitely a common theme.”

Like Caoimhe and Ava, she believes employers are asking for something young people simply cannot provide.

“I feel like they aren’t even looking at my CV. A lot of jobs say that you need experience but where do you start to get this experience?”

She praised her employer for taking a chance on younger applicants. But fhe worries the lack of opportunities is beginning to affect young people’s futures.

“This place was really nice. They made an active effort to help young people… It is a concern. It’s stopping people from doing what they want to do because they won’t be able to afford Uni and things like that.”

Alice, 25, is facing a different challenge. She wants to build a career in the events industry but says the opportunities available are limited.

“I’d like to go into events but I’ve not seen a lot of options,” she said. “I’ve tried to apply for things but there’s not really much.”

Like many of the people interviewed, she says employers’ expectations create an impossible situation. She added: “You need experience and we can’t get that without a job.”

The Government has said it is aiming to tackle rising youth unemployment through its Youth Guarantee, a plan designed to give young people more opportunities to move into work or training.

The scheme, backed by £2.5 billion, is intended to support almost one million young people and unlock up to 500,000 jobs and training opportunities.

It includes a Jobs Guarantee, which will provide eligible 18 to 24-year-olds who have been claiming Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months with a guaranteed, fully subsidised six-month paid job.

A Government spokesperson said: “Too many young people are locked out of opportunity, work and education – and we are determined to change that.

“Backed by £2.5 billion, our Youth Guarantee will deliver a million opportunities across the country, ensuring every young person has the chance to earn or learn.

“And we will continue to back employers through fully funded jobs for those furthest from the labour market, hiring incentives worth up to £8,000 when they take on a young apprentice and an exemption from National Insurance for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25.”

The plans come as the Government acknowledges the scale and complexity of the number of young people currently not in education, employment or training, with ministers saying they want to reverse the trend and help more young people into work.

Whether they are searching for a first part-time job, looking for summer work while home from university, or hoping to take the next step in their careers, many young people are having issues finding jobs in an increasingly competitive market leaving many feeling stuck before their careers have even begun.