'Lazy little s**ts': UK recruiter slams Gen Y

Headhunter Josh Harrison made headlines after he branded unemployed young people "lazy little s**ts" online — but he's standing by his controversial comments.

Harrison, a headhunter from UK firm Harrison Allwood, made the comments in response to a LinkedIn post penned by entrepreneur Jack Parsons earlier this month.

Parsons, 24, had shared his own story of unemployment and rejection, and said the UK's job market was "broken" for young people.

But Harrison, who is a millennial himself, responded by "calling bulls***" on Parsons' "poor us attitude".

"I'll tell you right now that it has never been easier for a young man/lady to find a reasonably well-paid job in this country and I'd go as far as to say regardless of qualifications, if you're under the age of 25 and not in work without any good medical or mental health reason then you're either a lazy little s*** or you're setting your sights way too high," he wrote.

"I'm not surprised us millennials are being called entitled. Kids these days measure their worth in the amount of followers they have on Instagram [and] they get upset if they're not a CEO by 25.

"Everyone seems to want to start from the top, not work their way up. No one seems to want to get their hands dirty anymore.

"If you're young and you're not in work, it's because you either don't want to be or you're not trying hard enough. Don't blame society for keeping you out of a job when we're living in the most open-minded, progressive, equality-focused period we've ever encountered."

Harrison's extraordinary attack on members of his own generation was quickly picked up by the UK media — but the man who claims to be "one of the most viewed recruiters on LinkedIn in the UK" remains unrepentant.

In another post on LinkedIn, he has hit back at "biased" media reports about the stoush, and criticised Parsons for labelling his comments as examples of "bullying".

"Looking over my post numerous times, I just can't comprehend how he comes to that conclusion. I do mention his name and call 'bullshit' on his opinion but the rest of the post itself is simply my opinion on our generation and how some of us could be labelled as being entitled," he wrote.

"Jack himself says in the comments below my post that he is an advocate of freedom of speech, yet it seems like any opinion expressed that's not aligned with his own is classed as 'bullying'."

He said Parsons' reaction to his opinion was "exactly the snowflake, entitled, sh*tty 'poor me' behaviour I was discussing in the original post".

Opinion over the row is divided on social media, with some followers applauding Harrison for his honestly while others insisted young people faced unique challenges when it comes to finding a job in today's market.