<2>Health Related Economic Inactivity in Young People in the UK: A Growing Concern
<3>The Rise of Economic Inactivity Among Young People
According to recent statistics, nine million people in the UK are economically inactive, with a significant increase in young people aged 16-24, affecting roughly three million individuals. < href='https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health' target='_blank'>Mental health disorders have been on the rise among young people who are without work, including anxiety, depression, and stress-related conditions. Furthermore, there have been surges in panic disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Self-harm and psychological distress have also risen substantially in 16-24 year olds.
<3>Understanding Economic Inactivity
Economic inactivity describes people of working age who are not employed or looking for work in the past four weeks and are not waiting or able to start work in the next two weeks. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, UK rates were consistently lower than those of comparable advanced economies. However, the pandemic drove up inactivity globally, and the UK has seen a slower recovery than its G7 peers.
<3>The Long-Term Consequences of Economic In