BRITAIN’s generational economic disparities have increased further during the coronavirus crisis as the young lost out to older people, the Resolution Foundation warns in a report published today. 

Research by the leading think tank found that young people had initially been hit hardest by the economic impact of the pandemic, with a higher increase in unemployment compared with those aged over 65.

Between February and August this year, the proportion of 18 to 24-year-old workers on furlough fell from 22 per cent to 4 per cent, compared to a drop from 18 per cent to 7 per cent for workers aged 65 and over, said the report.

Unemployment among 18 to 24-year-olds also fell by 2.4 per cent, compared with a 0.2 per cent fall among people aged 65 and over.

Though there has since been an employment recovery, it has not extended to improvements in job quality, the research found, with the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds on a zero-hours contract 1 per cent higher in June than before the pandemic.

The wealth gap between the young generation and people over 55 also increased, the researchers said. 

Kathleen Henehan of the Resolution Foundation said: “Young workers bore the brunt of the initial Covid-19 labour market shock, but their employment rate has bounced back as the economy has reopened.

“While the jobs market has slumped and recovered, Britain has also experienced an unlikely pandemic wealth boom. With over 55-year-olds accruing nearly two-thirds of this wealth boom, Britain’s already huge generational wealth gaps have got even bigger.”

Alex Beer of the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the research, said that it showed the fragility of living standards in Britain and an increasing wealth gap between generations in an economy now being “buffeted” by supply chain and labour market disruption.

He added that early indicators showed no accompanying improvement in wages or job security.