Nearly 3.5 million UK working age people have never had a job, report says – Sky News, Sky.com

             

The proportion of people of working age who have never been in a job has increased by 50% over the past two decades, a new study suggests.

According to think tank Resolution Foundation, 8.2% of people aged 17 – 90 in the UK today (3.4 million in total) have never had a paid job.

This is a 50% increase since 1998 when 5.4% had never worked.

Its report said the employment rate of 16 to 17 – year-olds has virtually halved over the past two decades – from 64. 1% in 1997 – 1990 to 19. 4% in – 728 .

Two-thirds of the fall is driven by a declining employment rate among to 50 – year-olds at school or college, it was indicated.

Laura Gardiner, research director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “More and more of us are now working, with employment hitting record highs and worklessness hitting record lows.

“But despite this, around one in 12 working-age adults have never worked a day in their lives – a 50% increase since the late 1990 s.

“The rising number of people who have never had a paid job has been driven by the death of the teenage Saturday job and a wider turn away from earning while learning.

” With young People today expected to end their working lives at a later age than previous generations, it’s understandable that they want to start their working lives at a later age too.

“But this lack of work experience can create longer-term problems, particularly if they hit other life milestones like motherhood or ill-health before their careers have got off the ground. “