Unemployed: Mental health crisis is driving young people out of work

A new report has claimed that young people are more likely to be out of work because of ill health than people in their early 40s.

The research, which was undertook by the Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank focused on improving the living standards for those on low to middle incomes, found that people in their early 20s with mental health problems may have not had access to a steady education and can end up out of work or in low-paid jobs.

According to the data, which was published on Monday, 34% of people aged 18 to 24 reported symptoms of mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder in 2021-22. This is a huge increase of the 2000 figure of 24%, with young women one-and-a-half times more likely to be affected.

Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: ‘Attention on this issue has tended to focus on higher education, but what should most worry is when poor mental health comes together with poor education outcomes.’

‘The economic consequences of poor mental health are starkest for young people who don’t go to university, with one in three young non-graduates with a common mental disorder currently workless,’ Louise said. ‘To address this mental health crisis, we need better support services in currently underserved colleges, and much better provision for those resitting exams so that everyone has qualifications to build on.’

Against this backdrop, the report, which called for government action, also discovered that 79% of 18 to 24-year-olds who are workless due to ill health only have qualifications at GCSE level or below. This compares with 34% of all people in that age group.

In addition, experts highlighted that 12% of 11 to 16-year0olds with poor mental health missed more than 15 days of school in the autumn term of 2023, compared with one in 50 healthier classmates.

The study concluded by claiming that efforts to tackle Britain’s epidemic of poor mental health should focus on lower-qualified young people.

Image: Shutterstock 

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