A stark link between the quality of work available to young people and a rising tide of health-related economic inactivity has been laid bare by new analysis, with insecure and low-paid jobs acting as a direct pipeline out of the workforce.
Research conducted for the Trades Union Congress by the consultancy Timewise has identified that the sectors where young people are disproportionately employed are the same ones experiencing the highest flows of workers into long-term sickness and worklessness. The wholesale and retail, accommodation and food services, and health and social care sectors are pinpointed as the triple epicentre of this trend.
Precarious work, broken health
The connection is rooted in the nature of the jobs on offer. These sectors are among the most likely to provide precarious or low-paid employment. For example, over 40% of staff in accommodation and food services are in insecure working arrangements, a category encompassing zero-hours contracts, agency work, or low-paid self-employment. Young workers aged 16-24 are 5.1 times more likely to be on a zero-hours contract than older age groups, with 12.5% of young workers on such terms in 2025.
This insecurity has a profound and direct impact on health. Unpredictable hours and income create financial and personal stress, while the physical demands of roles like hospital porter, kitchen staff, road transport driver, or theme park attendant take a toll. Clare McNeil, chief executive of Timewise, stated that expecting young people facing disability or mental health problems to take up “insecure, physical, inflexible work” is often futile, as “too often these jobs don’t work and they don’t last.”
The consequence is a surge in young people leaving employment altogether due to ill health. Official figures show 957,000 people aged 16-24 were not in employment, education or training (NEET) in the final three months of 2025—13% of the age group. Of these, 57% were economically inactive, and almost half reported ill health or a disability. The proportion of NEET young people with a work-limiting health condition has soared by 70% over the past decade.
Mental health at the core of the crisis
The research underscores that mental health is a critical factor driving this inactivity. Young people with mental health conditions are nearly five times more likely to be economically inactive than their peers. According to the analysis, mental health problems and autism accounted for over two-thirds of health-related barriers to employment among NEET individuals in the past year. The stress of wanting to work but being unable to, compounded by employer hesitancy, creates a vicious cycle detrimental to wellbeing.
This landscape is informing a major independent review. Former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn, who is leading a government-commissioned study into youth inactivity, has warned of a broader societal fear that the younger generation may not fare as well as their parents, breaking a century-old social contract. His review, focusing on mental health and disability as barriers, is expected to publish its final report in summer 2026.
Policy responses and sectoral tensions
In response to rising youth unemployment, the Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden, has announced a separate £1bn scheme aiming to create 200,000 jobs and apprenticeships. A central plank is a Youth Jobs Grant, where businesses receive £3,000 for hiring an 18-24 year old who has been on Universal Credit and seeking work for over six months, a measure expected to support 60,000 young people. The industry body UKHospitality, which helped shape the grant, welcomed it as a practical offset to rising employment costs.
Concurrently, the government’s Employment Rights Act is beginning to take effect. Some aspects, like the right to statutory sick pay from the first day of employment, come into force this month. Other provisions, including a right to reasonable notice of shift patterns and measures to ban “exploitative” zero-hours contracts, are scheduled for 2027.
This legislation has sparked debate about flexibility versus security. Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, argued the act’s full implementation is vital, stating young people need “secure jobs with decent prospects.” However, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, cautioned that if implementation “treats flexibility as insecurity by default,” employers may become more cautious, reducing the availability of crucial entry-level roles in sectors like retail, which employs around 780,000 young people.
The urgency of the situation is clear across the economy. With young people concentrated in the very sectors losing workers to ill health at the highest rates, the challenge is not just creating more jobs, but ensuring they are jobs that sustain rather than undermine a worker’s health.