THE under-25s are driving up “worklessness” levels with almost three million now classed as economically inactive.
Official figures out today show Gen Z is fuelling the surge of those not in work or looking for a job.
While unemployment has ticked up from 3.8 per cent to 3.9 per cent over the past year, the figure remains very low compared to previous recessions.
But the level of economic inactivity has hit 21.8 per cent — equivalent to 9.25 million people.
Almost three million of these are aged 16-24, a rise of more than three percentage points over the past year, the Office for National Statistics said.
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Although the figure includes some students, Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics said “increases in inactivity have been concentrated in the younger age groups, particularly in the 16-25 age group”.
The figures come as Richard Hughes, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, today told MPs mental health was “now the single largest reason to be outside the workforce if you are an adult”.
He told the Treasury Select Committee older people typically gave “musculoskeletal conditions” such as bad backs as their reason for not working.
But for younger people “it tended to be more mental health issues”.
A report by the Resolution Foundation found economic inactivity among young workers has doubled in a decade.
The think tank’s Louise Murphy said: “Getting more people from inactivity into employment is Britain’s biggest labour market challenge of the 2020s.”