Gen Z youngsters today blamed Covid for putting their generation off work, claiming the pandemic left them without the necessary social skills.
Britain’s youngsters said damning statistics – which showed that more people under 25 are now ‘economically inactive’ than ever before – were the result of fierce competition, fear of rejection and not being taught how to get a job in school.
As concern for the future of the country’s workforce continues to grow, young influencers have been posting on TikTok, joking about life on the dole to their thousands of followers.
Recruitment experts have blamed lockdown on younger workers being far less prepared for the workplace in recent years, with stark figures this week revealing the extent of under-25s out of work.
Anna Tomusk, 19, who moved to Newcastle from south London for university, is among those classed as economically inactive – meaning she is not employed or actively seek work – even though she insists she does want a job.
Fellow teenager Freddie Rouse, 18, claimed the pandemic had made Gen Zers less confident, while Freya Hodge, 19, from Exeter, said she believed ‘class’ was a factor in the economic inactivity of younger people.
Student Anna Tomusk, 19, who moved to Newcastle from south London for university and has not found employment and would be classed as economically inactive despite wanting to work
Newcastle teen Freddie Rouse, 18, who managed to find zero-hour work with the NHS, said: ‘I think there are a lot of younger people who aren’t looking for work
TikTok users joking about life on the dole to their thousands of followers on social media
One TikTok video (left) shows a group of young people nodding their heads to music with the caption: ‘When the dole is doubling the money.’ Another video (right), believed to be a parody, shows a woman showing a weekly benefits entitlement of £1,151 per week and saying: ‘Somebody please tell me why I would get a job when this is my weekly universal credits that I get?’
Sociology student Anna, said: ‘I used to work in a restaurant but I got made redundant after it shut down. Since then I have not been able to find anything but I have been trying really hard.
‘I think there’s a lot of competition with younger people and some employers don’t appreciate students have lectures and other commitments. It would be really handy to have income on the side but it’s tough.
‘However, a lot of younger people have mummy and daddy’s money so they don’t necessarily need to work. I do know some people who a job would just be a hobby for them so I can see why the numbers are high. But I do know others who are trying and can’t find work.
‘One friend had work in a late-night bar and she didn’t feel very safe so she left, so there are lots of different reasons why people struggle to find work.’
Anna added: ‘I’m not surprised so many people aren’t in work or are on sickness. I think Covid has affected people around my age and spending a year inside a house has affected people’s social skills.
‘The pandemic hit when I was having interviews for sixth form and I just couldn’t do them, so I think it’s had a big impact There is a big gap in the people who can afford to not work at a young age and the people who can work.’
Her comments come as official figures show nearly three million Britons under the age of 25 are not working or looking for a job.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that, overall, more than a fifth of adults in the UK are deemed to be economically inactive.
It means around 9.25million people aged between 16 and 64 are not in employment and are not seeking work – a rise of about 700,000 since before the Covid pandemic.
Almost three million of them are under-25s – an increase of 384,000 since February 2020.
The figures come amid concerns about the impact of worker shortages on the economy. More than 900,000 jobs are currently unfilled.
In the meantime, young people have been seen posting jokey TikToks about not working.
One video captioned ‘What life is like living off the dole’ shows a young man walking through a shopping centre and saying: ‘Today I’m going to be day drinking and smoking cigarettes at 2pm in the afternoon, which I am quite excited to do.’
Another video shows a group of young people nodding their heads to music with the caption: ‘When the dole is doubling the money.’
A third example shows a woman showing a weekly benefits entitlement of £1,151 per week and saying: ‘Somebody please tell me why I would get a job when this is my weekly universal credits that I get? I mean, why would I get a job. I get your monthly wage in a week… I’m living my f***ing best life.’
Alfie Chapman, from Newcastle, has a job lined up in car sales later this year following his graduation from sports science, but only after months of trying
Southampton University mechanical engineering student Tinashe Chituku, 20, admitted he has struggled to find a job while studying
Second year psychology student at Southampton, Freya Hodge (left with friend Karston Conte), 19, felt ‘class’ is a factor in the economic inactivity of younger people
Students at a Russell Group Southampton University today said they think young people are less likely to work these days because there’s a ‘lack of incentive’ and ‘motivation’ within their age group
Newcastle teen Freddie Rouse, 18, who managed to find zero-hour work with the NHS, said: ‘I think there are a lot of younger people who aren’t looking for work.
‘People missed so much during Covid including education on how to get into work.
‘So I think the pandemic has caused a job gap in generations because younger people now are less confident. That could be a reason why more people are on the sick.
‘I think people have completely changed after the pandemic with their social skills and confidence.
‘But I do know others who are trying but they finding it hard going through agencies because there is a lot of competition.
‘I have a zero-hour contract working admittedly in the NHS but it’s tough to find work.’
Alfie Chapman, also from Newcastle, has a job lined up in car sales later this year following his graduation from sports science, but only after months of trying.
The 20-year-old said: ‘I was applying for jobs for quite a while and it’s hard to find graduate jobs because there’s so many applications.
‘I have worked part time while at university doing jobs at St James’ Park so I’ve always managed to find jobs here. But I feel like there’s lots of people who don’t have those experiences of working so they’re less inclined to find work.’
And students at a Russell Group university today said they think young people are less likely to work these days because there’s a ‘lack of incentive’ and ‘motivation’ within their age group.
Many students at the University of Southampton believe that having wealthy families mean Gen-Zers don’t actually have to seek employment – as they can live off their ‘inheritance’.
Mechanical engineering student Tinashe Chituku admitted he has struggled to find a job while studying at university. The 20 year old, from London, said he thinks in the future, everyone will be ‘struggling’ due the cost of living crisis – but admitted there is less ‘incentive’ from young people to work these days.
Mr Chituku also said ‘most people don’t want to hire students’ and actually going out to find a job is stressful and time-consuming and that young people ‘don’t want to work for peanuts’.
Second year psychology student, Freya Hodge, felt ‘class’ is a factor in the economic inactivity of younger people. The 19 year old, from Exeter, Devon, said: ‘There’s a lack of motivation these days. People don’t really know where to go job searching, it’s a bit overwhelming.
‘I definitely think it’s about your upbringing, I think definitely families who are more ambitious will [push] that onto their children.’
Ms Hodge said the young people who don’t work are from the ‘upper classes’ who have been given ‘everything’ on ‘a silver platter’.
Economists have also warned that a crisis in mental health has been behind a growth in worklessness amongst young people, who will have had their lives impacted by the Covid pandemic.
Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chairman Richard Hughes gave a stark warning yesterday that joblessness that worklessness was now a ‘worrying trend’ since the pandemic.
Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee, he said that economy was growing due to net migration but said that it was faltering because of ‘rising levels of inactivity’.
He said: ‘It looks as though persistently high levels of inactivity seem to be a feature of the post-pandemic environment and one which is worrying from the point of view of human welfare.’
Asked if this was linked to long NHS waiting lists, he replied: ‘People out of the workforce for health reasons is now the single largest reason to be outside the workforce if you’re an adult as well as the fastest growing.
‘When we looked at it and compared it to people on the waiting list we didn’t find that much overlap actually.
‘Their reasons for being outside the labour force didn’t seem to be principally because they were also the people who were on the NHS waiting list.
‘It seemed to have multiple different causes depending on people’s age.
‘For older people it was often times because they had musculoskeletal conditions, for younger people it tends to be more mental health issues.
‘So we think there are more complex issues than just the waiting list.’
Director of economic statistics at the ONS Liz McKeown warned about under-25s shunning work despite a total of 908,000 vacancies being open, largely due to long-term sickness, The Telegraph reports.
The total number of people out of work due to being in full-time education hit a record high in January of 2.56million, a rise of 284,000 compared to the previous year.
Paul Dales, the chief UK economist at Capital Economics told The Telegraph that this means the workforce will be ‘more skilled, more talented, and more productive’ in the future.
But senior labour market economist at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), Jon Boys, told the paper that young people spending longer in education has had a slow burn effect on the workforce.
He said: ‘If we had the same employment rates for young people today as we did 30 years ago, we would have an extra million people in the workforce.’
A reversal of this trend could lead to every vacancy being filled across the UK. However, the high numbers of students out of work could also mean that young people are struggling to find work.
The number of young people economically inactive due to ill health has doubled in 10 years
Gen Z workers have previously been urged to do the bare minimum work to avoid burnout, as thousands admitted to ‘quiet quitting’ – a social media sensation which encourages staff to reject the idea of going ‘above and beyond’ at work, while still getting paid the same.
The change in attitude came after the shift in working behaviours due to the Covid pandemic. Millions were forced to work from home at the height of lockdown and many employees – including a number of civil servants – are still enjoying some level of flexibility or ‘hybrid-working’.
In that time, workers who may have previously been happy to put in extra hours when asked by bosses are now not doing so, seemingly inspired by a TikTok trend.
The proportion of 16 to 34-year-olds in the category increased in the quarter to January, offsetting rises in activity among older age groups.
The bump also outweighed a sharp decline in the number of stay-at-home parents.
The number of women saying they are out of the jobs market due to looking after families or households is now at the lowest on record, 1.342million. That is down from 2.9million in 1993.
Overall, 9.25million Brits are now classed as economically inactive – up 100,000 on the previous quarter and equivalent to 21.8 per cent of the adult population.
Nearly 2.5million of those are long-term sick, compared to 2.17million just before Covid struck in 2020.
The official figures came as separate analysis suggested 3.9million people are claiming means-tested benefits with no requirement to look for work.
The Office for National Statistics said economic inactivity had been driven recently by rises among the 16-34 band, while the rate for 35 to 64-year-olds had fallen.
‘The increase seen in economic inactivity in the latest quarter and on the year was mainly driven by those inactive because they were students and those inactive because they were retired,’ the watchdog said.
‘The quarterly increase was partially offset by falls in those looking after the family or home and those inactive for other reasons.
‘The number of those inactive because they were long-term sick fell on the quarter, but remains higher than estimates a year ago (November 2022 to January 2023).’
Work and Pensions Mel Stride insisted: ‘Our plan for the economy is working’
Although the inactivity rate remains well above the immediate pre-pandemic level, it is marginally down from the peak of 22.1 per cent seen in Summer 2022.
A Government source argued that looking at the rolling three month total for inactivity – rather than comparing quarter on quarter as the ONS prefers – it was down 28,000. Excluding students inactivity was down 185,000 on the year, they added.
Work and Pensions Mel Stride said yesterday: ‘Our plan for the economy is working. Employment is up on the year, the number of people on payrolls is at a record high, and inactivity is falling.
‘But our work is not done. Our Back to Work Plan will help a million people to find, stay and succeed in employment.
‘With the next generation of welfare reforms, we’re reducing the number of people on the highest tier of incapacity benefits by 371,000 – people who will now receive support back into work.’