Workers in their 20s are paid 12% less than they were in 2008, according to Resolution Foundation report

The pay of workers in their 20s has tumbled by almost 12% since the peak of the recession, according to a leading thinktank.

The Resolution Foundation said younger workers faced an almost unprecedented squeeze on both the wages and employment chances four years after the financial crash.

The thinktank said analysis of official data showed younger workers had been "pummelled" more than any other age group.

The warning follows concerns by the OECD that a lost generation of under-30s across Europe face long periods of unemployment or low wages that will prevent them from participating in society, creating a home and saving for retirement. A report by Tax Research this week found that self-employed worker incomes have tumbled over the last decade and more steeply since the 2008 crash.

The Resolution Foundation report shows that the average hourly pay for workers aged between 22 and 29 fell 11.7% in the three years after 2008 to £9.83. The inflation adjusted hourly rates of all workers fell by 8.1% over the same period.

Matthew Whittaker, senior economist at the thinktank, said: "The economic downturn has been tough for almost everyone but younger people have been hit harder, and from more than one direction. Wages have been falling steadily for almost everyone but, on top of this, younger people have not benefited from a partial recovery in the jobs market.

"It's worrying if economic recovery is not to be fully shared among the population. As it stands, young people are at risk of being left out."