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In the last decade, the share of 15-to-24-year-olds in the UK who claim they have a condition limiting their ability to work is reportedly up by 70%.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of jobless young people in the UK citing health problems as the reason they cannot work, according to newly published statistics from the Health Foundation.
The charity thinktank says that the portion of 16-24-year-olds currently not in any form of education, employment, or training – described as ‘Neets’ – who identify as having a work-limiting condition has risen by a massive 70% in the last decade.
The analysis is stark, claiming that young people out of work for this reason have near-doubled since 2015 (26% to 44%). That would mean almost half of unemployed young people who aren’t in further education believe their health is preventing them from doing anything about it.
These statistics arrive amid the backdrop of a UK job market already in dire straits. We recently wrote about government figures indicating that the nation’s unemployment rate has hit five-year highs. When it came to the 16-24s, the 16.1% solidified the worst employment disparity for a decade.
Gen Z borrowing is at record highs too.
The Health Foundation’s follow-up may help to provide some needed context. Last year, more than two thirds of Neets who cited health issues as a barrier did so because of mental health problems and autism.
‘There’s been a lot of attention on the growing number of young people who are neither learning nor earning. But our analysis shows the problem runs deeper. More Neet young people are reporting health problems, potentially putting this generation at even greater risk of harm to their future opportunities,’ said Sam Atwell, a policy and research manager at the Health Foundation.
The government’s work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, responded by pointing to a statistic showing that a person on universal credit – a UK benefit – is less likely to get a job than someone aged over 55 who is also on the scheme.
In response, this department plans on rolling out a £3,000 hiring grant for businesses that take on a young person who has been on benefits for six months. There’s also a £2,000 incentive for small and medium-sized employers to hire a young apprentice. Whether this will provide a greater incentive to nudge businesses towards younger applicants remains to be seen.
It’s positive that ministers are aware of the scale of the challenge, given a further £3.5bn is to be invested in getting young people in the labour market this decade, but there’s not much acknowledgment of how the current state-of-play is creating the problem.
