Almost two thirds of young people in the UK fear for their generation’s future, a study has found.
Almost half of people (49%) aged 16 to 25 felt daily anxiety about the future, while 59% described their generation’s outlook as “frightening”, research from The Prince’s Trust revealed.
The study was conducted as part of the charity’s “Class of Covid” campaign, which is being launched to raise awareness of how young people’s education, employment and wellbeing has been impacted by the pandemic.
Jonathan Townsend, the Prince’s Trust’s chief executive, is calling on businesses, the government, charities and the public to help young people “build a positive future”.
The poll, conducted by Censuswide, asked 2,002 young people from across the UK how in control they felt about their lives and careers since the pandemic.
Of the respondents, 45% said they felt anxious on a daily basis about recent political and economic events and just over half said they had lowered their hopes for the future since 2020.
The same proportion also say the predicted recession has them concerned about their jobs, with a third no longer believing they will hit their career goals.
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Over a third even said they feel their lives are spiralling out of control, rising to 41% for those from lower income backgrounds.
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Meanwhile, 29% of those from more affluent families think their job prospects will recover in future, compared with 42% from lower income backgrounds.
Mr Townsend said: “Young people in the UK today are facing a unique set of repercussions from the pandemic, impacting their education, employment and wellbeing, and leaving them destabilised and debilitated.
“As the economic climate continues to change around us, we must not turn our back on this generation.”
