More than 500,000 people aged between 16 and 35 in the UK are out of work because of problems, most commonly mental health related, The Guardian reports. Their number has risen by 44 per cent in four years. The number of those out of work due to illness is also rising in other age groups.
In the UK, the number of people aged 16 to 35 who are out of work because of health problems has risen by 44% in four years, The Guardian reports. There are now about half a million of them. Experts attribute the jump to a growing mental health crisis and underinvestment in healthcare.
People are simply refusing to look for work, citing health problems, most commonly mental health problems. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott was recently criticised because she said people should do “their duty and work from home anyway, otherwise they will face benefit cuts”.
Mental health problems affect more than a third of people aged 16 to 35 who are out of work due to long-term illness. This can include depression, nervous breakdown, anxiety. Rates of not working because of similar problems are also rising among people aged 35 to 49 and 50 to 64.
The proportion of people out of work because of mental health problems has almost doubled in 11 years, from 6.7 per cent in 2012 to 12.7 per cent in 2023.
The main causes of widespread unemployment are thought to be underfunding of the medical and mental health sectors, and the “post-pandemic effect”, where people are locked up in their homes for long periods of time, without the opportunity, for example, to continue their education. As the author of the article notes, the economic factor also intervenes, with young people unable to expect decent wages and “experiencing financial difficulties due to high rents”.
This situation has a detrimental effect on the economy and the general working capacity of the population. Forecasts are disappointing: by 2030, more than half a million more people in the UK will suffer from work-limiting illnesses.
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