The amount of so-called NEETs (young people not in employment, education or training) in the South West has increased by 61% in the last decade – the biggest rise in the country.
It is estimated that there are 84,000 NEETs in the region, up from 52,000 ten years ago, according to a study, commissioned by the University and College Union (UCU).
The dramatic rise has been called "heartbreaking" and has led to calls for a shake up of the Work Programme, the Government's back-to-work scheme.
The study, carried out by ComRes, also found that while nine out of ten aspired to be in work, a third felt they had no chance of getting a job.
The worrying statistics also extend to university students, who may have a degree but no practical experience to go with it.
Allyson Glover, the programme director of Unlocking Potential, which aims to get jobs for graduates in Cornwall, said it's important graduates make the right degree choices.
She said: "It's important graduates are making the right degree choices, that they explore work experience and entrepreneurship during their studies so they have a view of where they're going and where they want to be.
"With the right mix of work experience, qualifications and building their networks, they'll be work ready when the time comes.
"Universities are working hard to address graduate unemployment with employability skills built in to their courses but ultimately it is down to the student to build up their experience and skills in order to be successful. It is possible to have a positive career in Cornwall and Unlocking Potential can support graduates in numerous ways."
In total, England is estimated to have 909,000 NEETs, a 24.5% increase on a decade ago. While the South West saw the biggest rise in the country, London retained the most at 123,000, a rise of only 0.8% in a decade proving the capital still offered the best job opportunities to young people.
Charles Drew, chief executive of the Amber Foundation, a homeless and unemployed charity with offices in Chawleigh in Devon, said: "It's harder to get in to jobs in the South West principally because there's fewer of them.
"If you look at our site in Surrey, it's actually got the biggest percentage in to work because there's more jobs there than in the South West.
"I think the work programme needs to change. What they teach you is how to write a CV. If you haven't got anything to write on it, it's a useless task.
"I think in the rural areas, we have got the added problem of the time and cost that's required in getting to the job. If the under-25s are not getting the jobs, they need to look at what it is about them."
UCU president, Simon Renton, added: "We need to give our young people a commitment of proper guidance and stable, properly rewarded jobs, or educational opportunities.
"This will mean central and local government, employers, schools, colleges and universities working together. It will cost money, but the alternative is to consign hundreds of thousands of young people to the scrap heap and society to pick up the both the social and economic bills caused by their inactivity."