UK’s young people are pessimistic about economy

Many young people believe that the standard of living in the UK won’t recover for a decade, according to a new report from Post Office Financial Services.

The research was conducted online by T-Poll on behalf of the Post Office People’s Panel during late March 2009, using a nationally representative sample of 1,541 consumers.

According to the report, almost a quarter (24%) of 18-24 year-olds believe that living standards will take over a decade to return to pre-recession levels, while a further third (34%) predict that it will take more than five years away.

The research shows that the younger generation is more pessimistic about economic recovery than any other age group, with only 5% of 45-54 year-olds predicting that the recession will last longer than a decade. The report authors suggest that this reflects a difference in attitudes between those who have never struggled with recession before, and those lived through the last one and saw the path to recovery.

Young people also indicated that they were taking a more responsible attitude to credit in the wake of the economic turmoil, with half (48%) of 18-24 year olds stating that they will reduce their usage of credit as a result of the crunch. This compares with 28% of 35-44 year-olds planning to reform their use of credit.

Doug Strachan, head of consumer insight at Post Office Financial Services said:

“These findings demonstrate that the recession is already causing a marked change in the attitudes and the potential behaviour of the younger generation in particular. Younger age groups have only ever known relative economic good times during their adult lives, so the change in economic climate is therefore likely to hit these groups the hardest, contributing to this overwhelming sense of pessimism. One positive result of this appears to be indications of a desire to change financial habits drastically in the long term.”