Young people have told the BBC they are finding it harder than ever to get a job, with some graduates frustrated at being turned down for roles at supermarkets.

The government says getting more young people into work is a priority but UK job vacancies are at their lowest level in nearly four years.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents supermarkets, told the BBC young people will be hit hardest as firms cut back on hiring due to rising employer costs and upcoming changes to workers’ rights.

Faisa Ali Tarabi, 24, from Bolton said she had gone through Aldi’s recruitment process only to be told there was not a suitable vacancy.

She has a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Salford and a masters in management from Manchester Metropolitan University

She started looking for work when she finished her masters in January 2024, and estimates she has applied for around 2,000 roles.

“I’ve been without work for 15 months now, and to be honest, I’m not just looking for work with my degrees now. I’m trying to get whatever I can for the time being.”

Faisa says she applied for a job at an Aldi warehouse in March 2024. But showed the BBC an email from the store’s recruitment team saying: “You’ve done really well so far, however we do not currently have a vacancy that fully meets your requirements.”

It said “all is not lost though” and said recruiters would be back in touch if a potential vacancy came up in the next 12 months. She says she has not heard anything since. The BBC has asked Aldi for a comment.

In February we reported that more 16-24 year-olds were not in work, education or training at the end of 2024 than at any point in the past 11 years.

That is 13.4%, or almost one out of every seven people in that age range, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Faisa was one of hundreds of people who commented on this report on BBC News TikTok saying their unemployment was not for want of trying.

“I check every day, there are no jobs,” one user said.

Another said: “Finished my uni degree and can’t find one job within the field I studied for.”

A third user posted: “Young people aren’t fussy we literally can’t even get hired cleaning toilets.”

The number of jobs on offer in the UK fell to 781,000 in the first three months of the year, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Some experts believe the rising cost of employing people is making businesses hold back on hiring new staff.

In April the rate of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) went up and so did minimum wages across different age groups.

Business groups have also called for urgent changes to the upcoming Employment Rights Bill over concerns it could hit hiring.

Under the new law being scrutinised in the House of Lords on Tuesday, company bosses will be required to offer a zero-hours worker a guaranteed-hours contract based on the hours they clock up during a 12-week period.

The biggest concern among retail HR directors is that this risks making it much harder to offer people part-time jobs, according to a BRC survey.

It surveyed HR directors at 30 businesses, together employing 585,000 retail workers.

Just over half said the law change would result in a reduction in staff numbers in their business, while 61% said the new law would reduce flexibility in job offerings.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Almost 250,000 jobs have been lost in retail over the last five years and many major retailers have already announced further job cuts on the back of increased costs of employment which kicked in in April.”

She said part-time roles were down by 200,000 since 2017.

“These roles, which provide vital entry points into work for students, carers and returners, are set to be hardest hit,” she said.

“In its current form the Employment Rights Bill could backfire, putting the brakes on hiring, or worse still, putting retail job numbers further into reverse.”

In November we spoke to Amy Wilkes, 23, from Coventry who was struggling to find a job after getting a degree in criminology, policing and investigation.

She says she applied for supermarket roles but did not get a response.

“It was feeling impossible,” she says. “What really hurt me was the not hearing back because you don’t get any feedback to tell you where you’re going wrong.”

After seven months Amy secured a job as a support worker, which she will start in July.

“It was a surreal moment when I found out. I was in absolute shock, quite emotional but very thrilled,” she says.

Her biggest piece of advice to others looking for work is “don’t give up”.

“I know it’s really hard but there is a job out there for you,” she says.

“Think about what you can offer – that helped my confidence to think about myself and knowing my value and what I could bring to a company.”

A government spokesperson said its new “youth guarantee” was “providing every 18-21-year-old in England with access to an apprenticeship, quality training and education opportunities or help to find a job”.

It said its decisions, including to raise employer NICs, were necessary to “stabilise the public finances” to fund services like the NHS.

They added that business could claim employer NICs relief for some eligible staff including those aged under 21 and for apprentices under the age of 25.

1. Search beyond a 40-mile radius – Remote, hybrid and flexible working open up opportunities further away.

2. Use key words in your searches – Online algorithms will pick up on daily searches and send you more of the same.

3. Don’t wait for a job to be advertised – Contact a manager at a business that you like the look of as you never know what opportunities might be coming up.

4. Sell your skills – Use social media sites like LinkedIn which showcase your skills and experience. Other platforms like X and Instagram can prove useful when touting yourself out to potential employers as well.

5. Get learning – While you’re on the hunt for a job see if there are ways to fill gaps in your CV with free courses, volunteering or shadowing.

6. Celebrate the small wins – Set personal targets, like a certain number of jobs to apply for in a week or a number of cold emails to send, and acknowledge the little wins along the way to keep your spirits up.

You can read tips from careers experts in full here.