The number of young people in the workforce reporting high levels of psychological distress has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, raising concerns about a disproportionate impact on their mental health.

The Black Dog Institute released new research on Tuesday which suggests instability in employment and work hours during the pandemic, along with other factors including a lack of social support during lockdowns, has contributed to a dramatic rise in mental health problems in young people.

The number of young people in the workforce reporting high levels of psychological distress has doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, raising concerns about a disproportionate impact on their mental health.

The research released by Black Dog Institute suggests instability in employment and work hours during the pandemic, along with other factors including a lack of social support during lockdowns, has contributed to a dramatic rise in mental health problems in young people.

Acting director and chief psychiatrist at the Black Dog Institute Sam Harvey said that in the past decade young workers had started to report worsening mental health and this spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic for those aged 18 to 34.

“Younger workers have reported a steep increase in mental health symptoms over the last year, suggesting changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated the worsening mental health that was already occurring,” Professor Harvey said.

The report shows about 15 per cent of young people aged 18 to 34 reported high levels of psychological distress in 2017. That figure doubled to 30 per cent during the pandemic.

“It’s an acceleration of a trend we were seeing before [the pandemic],” Professor Harvey said. “The type of strain that is being put on those individuals in terms of the change in their workplace and broader society, I don’t think has been placed on previous generations before.”