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But little has been about how much of this is to do with the fact that work no longer pays huge numbers of people enough to be able to comfortably afford their rent, let alone contemplate buying a home of their own.
According to official figures released shortly before Christmas, economic inactivity – the number of individuals not working or looking for a job – is at a near-record 9.3 million people levels, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Digging into this data quickly reveals that there are many reasons why so many people are not working. These reasons vary depending on age.
Of those aged between 25 and 49, 1.1 million people have said they are not working because they have caring responsibilities. Almost a million of the individuals in this group are women. Another 981,000 people reported sickness as the reason for their economic inactivity.
Around 2.7 million people aged between 16 and 25 were economically inactive in 2023. While most people (2,149, 500) in this group are students, almost a quarter of a million (234, 600) said they were long-term sick. It’s thought that poor mental health is a major reason for this.
This might sound shocking but is it any surprise?
Increasingly, for younger adults, work does not pay enough to do that. And, if going to work won’t help you pay your way, let alone progress your life by buying a home of your own, why would you be inspired to seek it out?
The generational gap
In the 70s and 80s, home ownership became a symbol of social mobility for the baby boomers and Generation X. It was a carrot that encouraged young people to work.
House prices have soared far faster than salaries in recent decades. According to the ONS, in 2023, just 7 per cent of local authority areas in England and Wales had homes selling for less than 5 times local workers’ average earnings. In 1997, 88 per cent of areas had this ratio.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) increasing house prices benefited older generations at the expense of younger ones, increasing intergenerational inequality along the way.
Rachelle Earwaker, a senior economist at the independent think-tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), told me that these figures have emerged “at a time when prices have been rising and the cost of living has been swarming our lives as well.”
Studies show that unless you have wealthy family members who can help you with a deposit, you’re less likely to become a homeowner. A recent study in Denmark, believed to be one of the largest of its type and involving 630,000 children and their parents, found the largest factor in people’s ability to acquire financial assets through their lifetime is how wealthy their parents are.
There has been a “substantial fall” in home ownership among young adults since 1997. The IFS has said 35 per cent of 25- to 34-year-olds in 2017 were homeowners, a decrease from 55 per cent in 1997. The IFS also note that the biggest fall had been seen among middle-income young adults. For those on low incomes, home ownership is a pipe dream.
Across the country, the median salary for people in their 20s falls short of this.
Economic instability
Most young adults know they will be unlikely to become homeowners on their own. Even those in reasonably well-paid jobs are feeling the pinch in that respect.
Economic instability also begets anxiety. Young people are more likely to rent their homes. Studies show that renters suffer with higher rates of anxiety than homeowners. That, in turn, can make it harder to work.
2025 is going to be an interesting year for house prices. It’s widely predicted that they will continue to rise across the country. However, because mortgage rates are unlikely to fall dramatically, this will make buying a home less and less affordable.
On Boxing Day, the property listings website Rightmove says the number of homes listed for sale was 26 per cent higher than last year. This post-Christmas jump is not abnormal, people tend to wait until the festive period is over before uprooting their lives. However, the rise in the number of homes being sold suggests that the number of people looking to move is going up.
Ask me anything
This week’s question comes from a reader who is concerned about a neighbour with substance abuse issues who has been targeting them with anti-social behaviour. Recently, this has included shouting abuse into their video security system and turning off their water supply.
They want to know what their rights are?
Sadly, the only option for this reader is to report their neighbour to the council. That could result in an eviction.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 also states that ‘a person must not pursue a course of conduct which amounts to harassment of another person, and which s/he knows (or ought to know) amounts to harassment’.
It’s a horrendous situation for anyone to find themselves in. The council responsible ought to offer support to their tenant and find alternative accommodation. However, as I know all too well, this doesn’t always happen.
Vicky’s pick
This plot-heavy emotional dramatic thriller was less about religion and more about humanity. It completely captured my imagination as it took on complex conversations about race, gender and LGBTQ+ issues in ways that were sometimes subtle but always profound.
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