The research has been published ahead of the latest employment figures tomorrow, which are expected to show stubbornly persistent unemployment.
According to the TUC research, young people aged 18-24 have seen the sharpest fall in their job prospects of all age groups. They are 10% less likely to be in work today than on the eve of the recession. It would take another 395,000 jobs to get their employment rate back to pre-recession levels.
However, as youth unemployment started rising even before the last recession, many more jobs would need to be created to give young people the kind of career opportunities they deserve, says the TUC.
TUC general secretary, Frances O'Grady, said: "Ministers never stop claiming that a record number of people are in work. What they fail to mention is that it is more down to population growth than as a result of their own employment policies.
"What really matters to people is the likelihood of having a job and for young people in particular those chances have fallen sharply in the last five years.
"Young people today are suffering a shortfall of nearly half a million jobs since the eve of the recession, and their prospects have deteriorated even further over the last few years."
O'Grady added: "It's particularly worrying that 18-24 year olds have not benefitted from the recent improvement in the jobs market, and they are losing out again now that unemployment is rising."
The battle for work was highlighted yesterday with research from the CIPD revealing there are 45 people applying for every low-skilled job. The fierce competition for jobs has meant certain groups being excluded from the recruitment process, such as school leavers and the long-term unemployed.
The TUC research also revealed a job shortfall among 'prime age' workers aged 25-49. Employment rates among 25-34 year olds have fallen by 2.4%, creating a job shortfall of 164,000.
Employment rates for 35-49 year olds are almost back to their pre-recession level. Their shortfall of 71,000 jobs is relatively small given that they are by far the largest age group in the workforce.
O'Grady added: "Ministers must do far more to help young people back into work. The current schemes are clearly not working. It's time for a bold new approach. We need to see a job guarantee for every young person who has been out of work for more than six months.
"No-one should object to ministers spending more now on a job guarantee that could provide a better future for unemployed youngsters, particularly as past experience has shown that these schemes tend to pay for themselves in the long run."
