David Miliband: 'Unemployment emergency' in UK The problem of youth unemployment has reached an "emergency point" according to a new report. Former foreign secretary David Miliband, who chairs the Commission on Youth Unemployment which produced the report, told the Today programme that is "poor preparation" to the job market for young people. A "deep structural problem" combined with the economic crisis are the main causes of youth unemployment, he said. The solution, he said, lies in doubling the number of wage subsidies and having more employed young people mentoring the unemployed.