Resolution Foundation warns of a 'lost COVID generation'

13 Oct 2020

Think tank the Resolution Foundation has suggested that the coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a 'U-shaped crisis', with young adults and pensioners most likely to have stopped working during the pandemic.

A report by the Foundation revealed that over half of those aged between 18 and 24 and 65 and over who were employed before the COVID-19 pandemic have since stopped working, either by being furloughed or by losing their jobs altogether, compared to fewer than a third of those aged 30 to 50.

The report also showed that the impact of the pandemic on people's living conditions has 'fallen most heavily on young people'.

Commenting on the matter, David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation, said: 'The pandemic has already cost tens of thousands of lives, millions of people their livelihoods and upended everyone's daily lives.

'For younger generations, this crisis has created wider problems. The growth of the high-cost, low-security private rental sector has led to missed housing payments and cramped living spaces during lockdown.

'With infections rising again, the COVID crisis is sadly far from over. That means the risk of losing a COVID generation to long-term youth unemployment is real. But there is plenty that policy makers can do to prevent it – from extra training provision to a greater focus on creating new jobs to support people out of this crisis.'