Economic trends and how they affect young people
- Darcie Aitken
- Mar 18
- 2 min read
Inflation, rising costs of living, higher rates of youth unemployment, and underemployment are all issues and economic trends that affect our current younger generations paving their career paths and often diminishing dream job opportunities and pressuring young people to settle for fewer than opportunistic jobs.
About youth unemployment and underemployment
Youth unemployment is becoming more and more common in the overall population, with increased job experience requirements and businesses having higher expectations for the CV, it becomes increasingly harder for younger and inexperienced young people who just recently entered the workforce to be picked by these businesses. This especially hinders the future of the economy and the overall populational satisfaction of countries as the first employments or job opportunities young people have been what will pave the way for theirs. It will determine what type of sector of business they will be in which would also snowball into many decisions in their life. “What happens early on in your career echoes down the years.” said Alison Mcgovern, the Minister of Employment of the UK1.
% of Youth Unemployed in UK from 1992-2012 (ages 16-24)
Underemployment is when young people decide to settle for jobs that are below their qualifications due to the current limited opportunities. This can significantly affect their future career progression and their potential earnings.
Pressure from the rising cost of living
With higher-than-ever inflation rates and increasing cost of living, young people often settle for whatever jobs they can get, leading to underemployment. An increase in the rising cost of living also impacts the lives of these people as it forces them to delay life achievements like marriage, ownership of a house, and starting families. Financial instability and job insecurity can also lead to mental health issues such as depression anxiety and more. This creates a difficult intertwining cycle that leads to further unemployment, which certainly affects mental health issues even more.
Direct correlation between mental health and unemployment
We can see a direct correlation between mental health and underemployment due to the blue bars on the graph, illustrating which mental health illnesses the youth in the UK are suffering more from than employed people, suggesting employed people are mentally healthier due to the higher health index.
Conclusion
Before commencing my research, I was led to believe that unemployment and rising costs of living affected young people’s career choice and increased youth unemployment. Further research has shown these issues to be particularly true, with greater pressure to make money quickly so that they can pay for their expenses, many young people fall into mental health issues and settle for less than opportunistic jobs. Countries must see a viable solution such as incentives to youth employment, prioritising skills over degrees. This enables younger generations can still go through their lives normally and see a normal lifestyle without immense budgeting and delays of important life goals and achievements.
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