UK data suggests a big reason for greater inactivity among young men is ill-health, particularly mental health, Louise Murphy of the Resolution Foundation says.Britain’s economy has delivered a bumpy ride for young people in recent decades but it has still managed to suck more of them in. The proportion of 18-24 year olds who are on the sidelines of the labour market – neither working nor studying – has declined since the 1990s.
There are two things going on. Fewer young women are having babies, and those who do become young mothers are now more likely to work. Lower birth rates among young women are a broader societal trend common to many countries, though UK policymakers did apply an extra push with the introduction of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy in 1999. Given that teenage mothers are less likely to finish education and more likely to end up in poverty, this trend is worth celebrating.
Helping these young people to recover will require mental health support and treatment to be more widely available. Local authorities and charities might need more resources to find and support them. They might also need more specialised help to find their way into the labour market. But many of these young people are not “in the system” because they are not claiming benefits: only 44 per cent of workless young women and 32 per cent of workless young men were on income-related benefits in 2019.
Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)
IrishTimes That's OK as long as women are OK,young men aren't nearly as important after all.
IrishTimes We need to equalise this for equalities sake.