Young Men In The UK Are Being Failed By The System — What Needs To Happen To Reverse This Worrying Unemployment Trend?

• The Resolution Foundation’s latest report on youth unemployment in the UK highlights the alarming trend that young men in the UK are experiencing high rates of worklessness. 
• Simultaneously, there has been a rise in women entering the labour market. This trend correlates with women having fewer (or no children) and more young mothers entering the labour market. 
• Poor mental health is often behind economic inactivity; unemployment rates for young men in the UK will not improve unless policymakers incorporate mental health support into all strategies designed to encourage people into work. 

The rate of youth unemployment in the UK has been on a steady decline since the mid-nineties. A report (Not Working) by one of the UK’s leading policy think tanks, The Resolution Foundation, indicates that since 1995, the number of economically inactive young people has declined from 1.1 million to 800,000.  

The report highlights that this decline has been driven predominantly by young women; 280,000 of the additional 300,000 young people who have moved into employment are women. Young men, however, lag behind, with a comparatively low 20,000 additional workers. It is this rise in inactivity among young men that is causing concern. 

Why aren’t young men working? 

Young women are still more likely than men to experience common mental health disorders (such as anxiety or depression), but the gap is decreasing. According to the report, the percentage of young men with a common mental health disorder increased by 7% between 1995 and 2019, compared to a 5% increase for young women.  

The report cites poor mental health and long-term sickness or disability among young men as primary factors underpinning the lower rate of increase in economic activity for this cohort (worklessness due to sickness or disability among young men has increased by an alarming 90,000 since 2006). Unsurprisingly, this trend coincides with a rise in the number of young men who are not working or in full-time education for over a year (from 56% in 1995 to 70% in 2021).   

Alongside these disappointing statistics is a more promising story of young women experiencing increased levels of economic activity. There are several factors at play here; a decrease in the number of young women who cannot work outside of the home due to full-time family care commitments, a decline in the birth rate among young women and a rise in the number of mothers entering the labour market.

How can young men be supported to enter the labour market? 

The current situation is unlikely to improve unless there is a firm commitment to rapid policy change. According to the report, there are two main strands that policymakers should focus on:  

• Cohesive strategies to reduce economic inactivity amongst young people 
• The integration of mental health support into employment assistance programmes

According to the Resolution Foundation report, the hardest-to-reach young people must be identified and supported — particularly those who are economically inactive due to poor health. In the UK, this is easier said than done because unemployed young people who are not benefit-claimants do not have access to job-seekers’ support programmes.  

The UK needs a massive overhaul of the current system in order to effect long-term change. The solution lies not only in funding new initiatives; it is also how these initiatives are designed that will ultimately improve outcomes for young people.  

A multi-agency approach could be a good starting point — enabling employers, employability support agencies, mental health charities, healthcare providers, local authorities and central government to work together. High-quality, sustainable initiatives that incorporate existing good practice should be designed, planned and implemented through these partnerships. The outcome would hopefully be tailor-made support programmes that provide sustainable access to employment for young people.   

A one-size-fits-all approach will not be sufficient. New initiatives should focus on the complex reasons why young people are not accessing employment. They should also improve mental health support — particularly for young men falling through the current gaps in provision. The intensity of this support also matters.   

Studies conducted in the United States and Finland have shown that more rigorous, frequent initiatives provide better outcomes for young, unemployed people with poor mental health. These programmes also offer young people good quality work with long-term career prospects and adequate security and flexibility. 

What do current trends surrounding the UK’s unemployed youth tell us about the future?

Louise Murphy, the author of the report, argues that if the current issues surrounding youth unemployment are not addressed, there will be a rise in the unemployment rate for young men and women from 2024. The UK has also been slower to reduce youth unemployment than many of its European counterparts. In 2019, for example, the UK was behind both Germany and Ireland. If this trend continues, the UK will find itself lagging in other indicators of success.  

During the pandemic, there was a spike in mental health problems (especially anxiety) among young people. Finding and securing employment can be difficult for anyone; for a young person experiencing poor mental health, the process is even more challenging. Young people who do not receive support for their mental health problems are more likely to be out of work or education. Not working or studying can also exacerbate and prolong health issues. If mental health problems continue to rise among this cohort, there will be a sustained rise in overall youth unemployment.

The report details how the number of economically active young people (outside of full-time education) has fallen from 52% to 50%. Many young people were fortunate enough to return to their jobs after the pandemic (helped by the furlough scheme), and young people from the full-time education sector could access the labour market when everyone returned to work. 

However, young people who were not in full-time employment before the pandemic have not enjoyed the same levels of access to employment. The situation is detrimental to the future job prospects of this group and an additional blow to progress made in reducing youth unemployment. 

Louise Murphy, Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said, “To minimise the risks of this happening, and provide a better future for all young workers, policy makers should focus on how to target support so that it can benefit young people with health problems who are hard to reach, and who may not currently be registered with their job centres and local authorities.”

What are the implications for policy makers? 

The Resolution Foundation report highlights the knock-on effect of the rise in mental health problems among young people. Without adequate mental health care and support, these young people are more likely to become the future long-term unemployed. The longer a person lives without secure and stable employment, the more likely they will experience life-long economic inactivity.  

Young people from households where generations of the same family have never been in paid employment often face additional barriers and are more likely to experience long-term worklessness. Everyone needs and deserves an opportunity to be an active member of society and to access good-quality work with career progression and desirable benefits.

The UK is about to gain its second Prime Minister since leaving the European Union. There is much talk of “levelling up” and “building back better,” which are manifesto pledges that sound impressive, but without robust policies underpinning them, will remain mere slogans. 

Hopefully, the new leadership will ensure that young people are prioritized and initiatives to decrease unemployment are pushed to the top of the political agenda. The state and employers need to provide access to employment for all young people — especially the hardest-to-reach. 

The mental well-being of young men must be recognised, with psychological support integrated into all employability programmes. This support will ensure that when these young men find work, they can enjoy long-term, quality employment. Short-term fixes are not the answer; as with most things in life, sustainability is key.