Teenage Saturday workers a dying breed, report into 'Gen Z' finds
Teenagers working a Saturday job in the UK are a dying breed, a major survey into "Generation Z" has suggested.
Some 42% of 16- and 17-year-olds were studying and working simultaneously in 1997, but the figure had dropped to just 18% in 2014, according to a report by Ipsos MORI.
The long-term decline, which pre-dates the recession, may be down to an attitude change among Gen Z, fewer of whom want part-time jobs and instead prioritise studying, the report suggested.
The analysis comes as the eldest of the cohort, born from 1996 on, are entering adulthood, and suggests they are better-behaved, more trusting, and less materialistic than their Millennial predecessors.
And they are closer to parents, with two-thirds of children in secondary school talking to their mother at least once per week about important issues - compared with just 51% in 2001.
Bobby Duffy, managing director of the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute, said Gen Z had been the subject of "spurious claims and myths" and "wild speculation", but "putting a whole generation into a box is never smart".
There has also been a "stunning" shift in trust, with Gen Z nearly twice as trusting of other people than Millennials at the same age (61% in 2017 compared with 36% in 2002), the report added.
Gen Z also appear to be dropping binge-drinking over fears about the risks, with just 36% of 13- to 15-year-olds trying alcohol in 2016 - down from 72% in 2000.
But they are only half as likely to get sufficient levels of exercise as Millennials were 10 years ago.
Mr Duffy said: "They face some really tough conditions, particularly in Western countries like Britain - a tough economy, rapidly changing labour market, all-encompassing technology that brings new threats as well as opportunities, polarised politics and long-term trends like increasing obesity.
"But so many positive aspects shine through from our study - their interest in social action and ethical consumption, their trust in others, their dropping of some past bad habits, their openness to difference on sexuality, gender and immigration."
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Thomas Hornall, Press Association');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '6e5de503-a931-4918-addc-9172b6db5637');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:news,paservice:news:uk');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', null);ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Teenage Saturday workers a dying breed, report into \u2018Gen Z\u2019 finds'});
