Mental health problems impact young people’s ability to enter and flourish in the labor market. Less than a third (31%) of young people aged 17-23 who have mental health problems feel optimistic about their future job prospects, whereas more than two-thirds (70%) of young people without mental health problems feel optimistic about their future careers.

“Unfortunately, the lack of optimism reported by young people with mental health problems reflects reality: having a mental health problem does impact young people’s chances of finding and flourishing in work,” new research by the think tank Resolution Foundation says.

One in five young people with common mental disorders is workless

The study also shows that, between 2018-2022, one-in-five young people with mental health problems (21%) were workless, compared to 13% of young people without mental health problems. This pattern continues into later adulthood: among 25-34-year-olds, 22% of those with mental health problems were workless, compared to 14% of those without.

It is also clear that it is important to think about full-time education when focusing on young people aged 18-24, with a third (33%) of young people in full-time study between 2018-2022.

The youth mental health crisis is translating into a youth employment challenge

With young people’s mental health and employment so clearly linked, it is unsurprising that the youth mental health crisis is translating into a youth employment challenge. In the past decade, between 2013 and 2023, the number of young people aged 18-24 who were out of work due to ill health has more than doubled, rising from 93,000 to 190,000. Among the non-student population, one in twenty young people were economically inactive due to ill health in 2023.

The think tank urged sectors employing large numbers of young people to spearhead initiatives to hire more “mental-health aware” managers to improve the outcomes of tomorrow’s leaders: “With a third of young employees in the retail and hospitality sector currently reporting mental health problems, better management practices and mental health training for employers in these sectors should be a priority going forwards.”

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Source: Resolution Foundation | Fortune