In the short span of just four years, more than half a million young people in the United Kingdom are out of work. As per recently released data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, in the first three months of 2023, more than 560,000 people aged 16 to 34 were without a job.
A crisis at hand
As per a report by The Guardian, experts have chalked the high numbers to a growing mental health crisis. They also blame an underinvestment in health services on the rising economic inactivity — this includes both those who weren’t working and those who weren’t seeking work.
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A report by the Health Foundation found that today, 16 to 34-year-olds were “as likely to report a work-limiting condition as someone aged 45–54 years 10 years ago”.
Another report, a survey by the ONS labour force, found that more than a third, or about 36 per cent of people in the age group 16 to 34 years old, out of job individuals suffer from mental health problems. Among these young people, depression, bad nerves, and anxiety were the most prevalent.
The cause
Difficulties in accessing mental health services and “12 years of underinvestment in the public health sector” play a huge role in poor population health, says David Strain, a professor at the University of Exeter and chair of the British Medical Association’s Board of Science.
He said that the nation’s health service is focused on treating sick people instead of keeping people healthy.
“We have a national disease service these days, not a national health service. We are focused on treating sick people rather than keeping people healthy. And people haven’t had access to essential mental health services.”
He said that while long Covid probably played a part in it, exact numbers are difficult to know.
Researchers pointing out the post-pandemic effect of people out of work due to mental health problems said that these problems are not new. They have been part of a wider trend that goes back almost a decade to 2012, they say.
A Health Foundation report shows that the number of people not working due to mental health issues has almost doubled in 11 years — from 6.7 per cent in 2012, to 12.7 per cent in 2023.
(With inputs from agencies)
