People in their 20s more likely to be off work due to health

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A new study has found that people in their early 20s are more likely to not work due to poor health than those in their 40s.

The report, published by Resolution Foundation shows that the figures are “radically different” from the past, where the older you got, the more likely you were to not work due to illness.

People in their 20s

The official figures show that poor mental health among young people is on the rise, which is affecting their access to education. As a result, these young people may find themselves in lower-paid jobs or unemployed due to the lack of schooling later in life.

Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said attention had more often been on mental health in higher education, but “what should most worry us is when poor mental health comes together with poor education outcomes.”

“The economic consequences of poor mental health are starkest for young people who don’t go to university, with one in three young non-graduates with a common mental disorder currently workless.”

The research also found that 79% of 18 to 24-year-olds who are “workless” due to ill health only have qualifications at GCSE level or below.

Young people now have the poorest mental health of any age group, the report shows, which is a reversal from two decades ago when they had the lowest incidence of common mental disorders.

According to the study, 34% of young people aged 18 to 24 reported symptoms of a mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder in 2021/22, and half a million of 18 to 24-year-olds were prescribed anti-depressants.

The director of the Health Foundation, Jo Bibby, said that the “building blocks of health” are things like “good employment and education” and “cross-government action” was needed to stop the creation of a “lost generation” due to poor mental health.

The concerning figures show women are one-and-a-half times more likely to experience poor mental health than young men, and one in 20 young people (5%) were economically inactive due to ill health in 2023.

Resolution Foundation, campaigns for better living standards for those on low and middle incomes are now calling for better mental health support in colleges and sixth forms, and for more to be done to make it so that fewer young people leave compulsory education with low qualification levels.

People in their 20s more likely to be off work due to health than those in their 40s – Study

A new study has found that people in their early 20s are more likely to not work due to poor health than those in their 40s.

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