A record number of young workers are leaving the UK due to low wages and high housing costs, mainly for Australia.
The figures show that Australia is currently the top destination for British workers, offering warm weather and higher wages. The ONS figures show that the proportion of people aged between 18 and 35 holding visas to participate in “working holiday maker” programme has more than doubled: from 38,177 in 2022–2023 to 79,412 in 2024–2025.
According to a BMA analysis, a second-year junior doctor in England can expect to earn around £51,000, whilst in Australia the figure is £68,000. But this is not limited to doctors, as workers in Australia generally receive higher salaries. Based on data from the job search platform SEEK, a British hairdresser earns an average of £23,000, compared with £36,400 in Australia. A plumber in Australia earns some £49,400, compared with £35,000 in the UK.
Among the reasons why young British workers are leaving their home country in search of higher earnings, a sense of dissatisfaction among young people stands out.Â
Over the past decade, the share of young people aged 16 to 21 who feel pessimistic about their future has tripled, according to an analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research. To this are added difficulties in finding employment after graduating from university, with the number of graduate vacancies having fallen by a third in the year to March 2026.
Economists point to higher interest rates and the economic slowdown as reasons for the decline in hiring of early-career professionals, whilst some argue that artificial intelligence is also beginning to have an impact.
Some other reasons cited for why Britons are leaving include high house prices. In London, for example, where rents in the city centre exceed £979 a month, coupled with mortgage rates falling to its lowest level since 2008, the cost-of-living crisis is being exacerbated. The average deposit, which amounts to 21% of gross income, significantly limits people’s ability to buy their own home.
“The country needs the younger generation to be the engine room of Britain in the years to come,” the group of MPs wrote in its report to the government. “Although balancing the books today is important, the Government cannot always choose the politically convenient option of loading additional fiscal burdens on to younger generations while hoping that young people will not notice the extra weight for decades to come.”
