Young people in Rotherham face a local jobs market with the fewest suitable opportunities in Britain, according to a report that warns stark regional divisions are fuelling a crisis in youth work.

As ministers push to combat rising youth unemployment, the analysis from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) showed young people faced a tougher challenge in some parts of the country to find work than in others.

Publishing a new “local youth opportunity index” to track job vacancies across Britain, it said there was a sixfold gap in jobs in the South Yorkshire town compared with the more affluent Cotswolds, where there are fewer young adults but more opportunities.

Whereas Rotherham has 46 online job vacancies for every 1,000 young people, there are 288 in the area covered by Cotswold district council. Highlighting deep regional divisions, the report found nine of the 10 best areas for youth job opportunities are in the south of England