Half of young people could leave their local area to look for jobs because they feel there are not enough opportunities where they live, new research suggests.

A survey of 10 to 25-year-olds found that challenges they expect to face include financial pressures.

Over a third of the 2,000 respondents to the Co-op survey said their lives will be affected by what the Government does.

A similar number of those aged 16 to 25 believe rising costs will make it harder for them to get a job, said the Co-op.

The Co-op said its study found that children as young as 10 already think they will need to leave the area where they live to achieve what they want in life.

Here in Wales, our so-called “brain drain” problem – in which talented young people seek to move out of the country in pursuit of better jobs and opportunities elsewhere – has been much discussed since last summer’s Senedd elections.

The Welsh Government estimates that 16 to 64-year-olds could be just 58 percent of the population by 2043, as young people move away and retirees settle in popular coastal resort towns.

In a speech last year, economy minister Vaughan Gething insisted that “you don't have to get out to get on” in Wales, adding: “we need to have a future for the Welsh economy that means that people can see a way to be successful here, and to invest in that talent."

At the same time, rising living costs across the country continue to push young people towards hardship.

Earlier this year, a group of councils in south Wales were widely criticised after it emerged they had used the relatively low pay-rates for graduates in Cardiff as a selling point to attract potential private investors.

The Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) group, made up of ten councils in south east Wales, talked up the area’s “competitive operating costs” for businesses in its latest Investors’ Prospectus, highlighting that university graduates in Cardiff make less money than those living in other major cities like Glasgow, London or Birmingham.

"I'd rather we have jobs, than no jobs," said council leader Huw Thomas at the time.

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Shirine Khoury-Haq, interim chief executive of the Co-op said: “With young people bearing the brunt of yet another national crisis, now, more than ever, we need to take urgent action to tackle inequality of opportunity, levelling up for young people everywhere and to look from a business community as to how we can support.

“Young people are the DNA and future of this country, but as the research shows, while talent is spread across every community, opportunity is not.

“Too many feel that owing to accessibility of opportunities and the rising cost of living they won’t have the chance to achieve their aspirations.”

Additional reporting: Rebecca Wilks

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