Young Britons are at risk of giving up on work, with 37 per cent of Generation Z employees saying they have seriously considered leaving their jobs in the last year, according to a new study.
PwC warned that the level of economic inactivity could rise again as 4.4 million workers – 10 per cent of the overall workforce – were “on the brink of leaving the labour market”.
The firm surveyed 4,000 people between the age of 18 and 64 in the UK as part of their report, as well as 311 business leaders in a separate survey.
They particularly noted that “younger workers – aged 18 to 24 – are particularly at risk, with mental health a major driver.”
Not only had 37 per cent of 18-24 year olds considered leaving their jobs in the last 12 months, but 40 per cent of people in this age group were more likely to cite concerns with mental health as a driving factor for leaving work when compared to older respondents.
The accountancy firm warned that many employers were wary to take on people who had been out of work for an extended period, with skill and experience gaps posing a major concern.
Between October and December 2024, youth unemployment was 14.8 per cent, up from 11.9 per cent the year before, with over three million young people aged 16 to 24 classed as “economically inactive”, according to the Office of National Statistics.
The unemployment rate nationally is 4.4 per cent.
PwC said that not only had the UK’s rate of economic inactivity surged since the pandemic, levels remained “stubborn” among under-35 year-olds, with an increased proportion of those out of work due to long-term sickness.
They classed the UK as the only G7 country with fewer people in work now than before the pandemic.
The “big four” firm’s report comes as Department of Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to detail benefits reforms in Tuesday.
Eligibility for people applying for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is set to tighten under these plans.
More than half of the rise in working-age disability claims since the pandemic is related to mental health or behavioural problems, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Ahead of alleged changes to the benefits system, Health Secretary Wes Streeting alleged that there was an “over diagnosis” of mental illness which meant there were “too many people people being written off.”
He said: “I mean mental wellbeing, illness, it’s a spectrum, right? And I think there’s an overdiagnosis, but also there are too many people being written off.”
