Having been laid off aged 19, Rhys O’Flynn is exhausted applying for jobs with no response back – and he’s not alone, as the rising figure of unemployed young adults is surging
Sat at his laptop, sending off more than 100 job applications without receiving a single response back, Rhys O’Flynn is trapped in a soul-destroying cycle.
The 24-year-old from Essex has been out of work for more than a year. After facing an endless wall of silence and automated rejections, he is deeply feeling the strain.
While his friends progress in their careers, book holidays and enjoy their twenties, Rhys is spends his days applying for countless jobs with absolutely no luck. Sadly, he’s far from alone.
There are an estimated 1.01 million young people aged 16 to 24 in England who are not in education, employment or training – widely known as Neets, and this number is rising. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a record number of these young adults are now classified as “economically inactive.”
From warehouse work and cleaning jobs to entry-level school roles, Rhys has applied for everything, leaving him exhausted by the gruelling hunt.
“I had a warehouse job from 16 to 19 and it was consistent, but then I got laid off as the work was running out,” he told Daily Mirror. “I then got a number of temp jobs here and there but it was very inconsistent. It would just be a few weeks here and there up until last November.”
Being unable to find steady, long-term employment has forced Rhys to rely on the savings from his very first teenage job just to keep afloat, all while being stuck living at home with his family.
“It really makes you feel like you are behind and you’re not good enough,” he admitted. “You just sit there overthinking why you haven’t got a job, questioning why you’re not good enough especially around my age there are people out there living their lives, going on holidays and it does really affect you.
“This part of my life, especially relationships and friendships it’s so difficult if I’m honest. Obviously you try and not compare yourself but it’s so easy to do so.”
Nearly one in seven 16 to 24-year-olds are now out out of work, a huge rise from 957,000 in the previous quarter. This marks the highest cohort of Neets since late 2013, when the figure peaked at 1.04 million.
Entry-level roles now routinely attract hundreds of applicants per vacancy. In some sectors, young people are not just competing with each other but against AI automation.
Despite a persistent social stigma labelling unemployed young people as “lazy” or “snowflakes”, Rhys’s daily routine proves the exact opposite. After hitting a low point, he’s determined to not let the rejection weigh him down anymore. “I get up in the morning and either go for a walk or do some form of exercise of going for a run or to the gym for an hour to help my mental health.”
Rhys has also started sharing his job hunt online via his TikTok page. While he has connected with thousands of young people in the same position, sharing his life transparently has also made him a target for bullying.
He said: “It’s mind blowing to see how many people are in the same situation as me. I’m so disappointed I am still applying for jobs, so in my free time I am sharing videos about my situation to hopefully help others and make sure other people don’t feel alone.
“You apply for jobs, and you don’t even hear back. Sometimes I will get a response saying no which is disheartening in itself, but not even getting a response is even worse so I don’t have anything to base it off as to why I didn’t get it.
“I have changed my CV four times and people will still call you lazy. It’s not as if I’m not trying. I’m quite lucky my family are so supportive. I live with my mum but some people I know who don’t have jobs don’t have that support system around them. I think if I had gone to university, not much would be different.”
Former health secretary Alan Milburn warned of a “whole system failure” and insists there is “no evidence” of a link between migration and joblessness among young people. Milburn also defended Chancellor Rachel Reeves when asked about whether the Government’s increase in national insurance was a mistake for its impact on business.
The report by Milburn, commissioned by the Government to look at the causes and possible solutions to the Neets issue, warned the figure could rise to one in six by 2031, representing 1.25 million young people. His report also estimated the crisis is costing the UK around £125 billion a year – taking in factors including losses in taxes alongside higher health and welfare spending
He warned there is a “risk of a lost generation” if the crisis continues and that Britain “faces a generational fault line” – but he warned there are no easy solutions.
“I just need to keep going and keep hoping, but it’s definitely not easy,” Rhys said.
