On Friday 23 May, all eyes will be on the latest NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) data release from the Office of National Statistics. Economic data shows a tough introduction to working life for those aged 16-24. The COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living crisis and ongoing gloomy economic outlook in the UK have put young people at the sharp end of insecure work, illness and insecurity. This was reflected in the October to December 2024 data, showing an estimated one in eight of 16-24 year olds are NEET.

The Government’s response has been to invest in more ‘pathways to work’, with welfare cuts for those who do not take them. Current Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) proposals to Universal Credit – which is already lower if you are under 25 – will remove the additional health component if you are under 22. Yet pushing young people into work through welfare cuts risks entrenching, rather than fixing, the UK’s economic challenges.

Research by the Work Foundation at Lancaster University suggests that young people are more likely to work in severely insecure jobs with a high risk of falling into economic inactivity due to ill health, and limited progression into secure work.

Bad jobs can harm health and be hard to sustain

Young people already face health struggles, particularly in mental health. Resolution Foundation research in 2022 showed that Common Mental Health Disorders (CMD) amongst young people have generally been increasing since the 1990s but began rising most rapidly from the mid-2010s. They also found that a CMD makes it more likely a young person will exit the workforce, and for longer.

Forcing young people with health conditions to choose between poverty or an unsuitable job ignores that the work available to young people may pose additional health risks. Work Foundation research has found that young workers (excluding students) are almost twice as likely to be in severely insecure work with a lack of access to employment rights, unpredictable or low pay, and no contractual guarantee of future hours. Whilst some students may opt in to casual, agency or zero-hours type work to enable them the flexibility to fit around their studies, young workers who aren’t studying are also experiencing this insecurity – suggesting people aren’t entering these jobs through choice.

Our 2024 Stemming the Tide report shows low levels of control over working hours and work conduct are associated with higher health risks and a 3.7 times higher rate of worklessness after a negative health experience. This mirrors findings in the Netherlands which estimated that workers with fixed-term contracts have a 30% higher risk of applying for disability insurance than those with permanent contracts.

The Government may be of the view that low-quality employment is still better than unemployment for health or future employment prospects. However, analysis of Understanding Society biometric data by Tarani Chandola at LSE revealed that poor quality work is associated with higher levels of chronic stress biomarkers than remaining unemployed. Progression is also limited, with Work Foundation analysis of Understanding Society data from 2017-2021 finding that 28.2% of insecure workers aged 16-24 remained stuck in insecure work four years on. This was particularly pronounced for people with a health condition, the cohort affected by proposed welfare cuts. Routes to secure work usually require people to move sectors, with insecure workers nearly three times more likely to switch sectors than secure workers. This suggests insecure work provides limited career progression.

Pathways work better when they are built with the walkers in mind, instead of pushing people down them

Workplaces, educational training and government should work with, not against, younger generations to enable healthy and productive working lives. The Work Foundation at Lancaster University’s new research with the Youth Futures Foundation (YFF) and Runnymede Trust provides a model of this type of co-design. Working with employers and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds living in Bradford, Brent, Leeds and Walsall, the research will identify how to promote employer action and behaviour change to tackle discrimination against minoritised young people in the workplace.

Instead of cuts, the UK Government should focus on the opportunity to shape the destinations of young people entering the workforce through the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) and the Youth Guarantee. Core provisions of the ERB, such as banning zero-hour contracts, strengthening the right to flexible working and protecting employees from unfair dismissal from the first day of employment, will create more secure jobs for all. The Youth Guarantee, which gives young people between 18-21 guaranteed access to training and apprenticeship provision, should also include a duty for providers to offer young people secure work with progression opportunities. Without good jobs available for young people, efforts to reduce the number of NEETs in the short-term will instead leave the next generation of workers lost in a cycle of insecurity and ill health.

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