A new report has found that at least one in four young people in the United Kingdom are worried that poor mental health will affect their ability to find work after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Guardian.
The British economy is about to open up this spring and the Resolution Foundation said young workers have still been suffering from mental health issues than older individuals.
The foundation said that at the end of May, people aged between 18 and 24 were two and a half times more likely to be out of work or still on furlough than any other age group.
The Resolution Foundation, which is an independent British think tank that aims to improve the standard of living of low- and middle-income families, found that at least one in five young adults reported struggles with mental health in June.
Of more than 8,000 adults, nearly 48% said their mental health was good, while 27% said they were worried about finding a job in the coming months due to their mental health.
Dr. Rukmen Sehmi, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said, “Young people have been hit hardest by the Covid-19 economic crisis, which has taken its toll on their mental health.”
“Worryingly, some young people are struggling even while the economy is recovering, and they are fearful about their career prospects,” she added. “These fears must not be underestimated.”
Earlier, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that young adults have been facing greater challenges in work than their older peers as restrictions are relaxed.
It said young adults had avoided sliding into poverty during the crisis because of the government’s furlough scheme and as they chose to delay the start of their careers by staying at home living with their parents while the pandemic continued.
The IFS noted the rise in young people staying at home as they were held back from getting on to the career ladder because of the COVID pandemic, adding that the share of 19- to 24-year-olds living at home with their parents increased from 45% to 50%, per The Guardian.
Xiaowei Xu, Senior Research Economist at the IFS, said, “We know that shocks early on in people’s careers can have negative effects on their future job prospects. Without effective support, there is a risk that young people today will bear the scars of the recession for years to come.”
