Research reveals Covid-19 pandemic has hit Ireland's younger workers the hardest
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Young adults have been disproportionately hit by the labour market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
This shows there were 112,000 fewer 15-34 year olds in paid work in the final quarter of 2020 than a year earlier, compared to 93,000 fewer workers aged 35+.
Proportionally, employment was 14 per cent below its pre-pandemic level for those age 15-34 compared to just 6 per cent below for those age 35+.
The research warns that these job losses could compound the still-lingering effects of the financial crisis, which left almost a third more 20-24-year-olds not in employment, education or training (NEET) than in 2007.