Are Millennials fickle or spoiled? The economic facts tell a different story

Millennials (those born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s) are often derided in popular culture as being fickle, lazy and entitled compared to their parents, the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1965). While there is a lot of anecdotal information available, it is important to examine whether the facts line up with popular preconceived notions, particularly in areas such as unemployment, wages, debt levels and government policy. I have used information from Statistics Canada to provide some insights.

Unemployment and wages

While the youth unemployment rate (those between the age of 15 to 24) generally trends higher than the rest of the workforce, it has remained relatively constant since the late 1970s at around 14.3 per cent. In comparison, when baby boomers entered the workforce, between 1961 and 1975, the youth unemployment rate averaged around nine per cent. Thus, since the late 1970s youth unemployment has remained relatively high compared to levels in the 1960s and mid-1970s.

However, it is important to keep in mind real wages (income that has been adjusted for inflation) climbed from $500 per week in 1960 to nearly $800 per week in 1977 and where it has stagnated to around $750 per week since the late 1970s. So baby boomers who entered the workforce faced comparatively lower unemployment rate, coupled with significant increases in their incomes as they progressed through the workforce. Wages for the milliennials, however, remain constant, meaning there is no guarantee of increased prosperity as they spend more time in the labour market.

Student debt levels and government spending

With demands for highly-skilled workers, over 50 per cent of millennials have or are attending college or university, compared to less than 30 per cent of youths in 1990 when Statistics Canada started keeping track. From the post-war period until the 1980s, the federal and provincial governments heavily subsidized university and college; tuition rates were minimal or token amounts. Since 1990, tuition rates have increased from $1,464 to $5,581 in 2012. Similarly, student debt has increased from $12,543 per student in 1990 to $24,680 in 2011. Starting in the 1980s, both provincial and federal governments have placed the onus on funding post-secondary education on the student rather than on the taxpayers.

Placing these factors together, we get a complicated picture of the economic prospects of the millennials. Due to changes in the international economy and the labour force, there is much more pressure for millennials to attend post-secondary institutions to become educated, however, there is a higher unemployment rates for millennials compared to the baby boomers once they graduate. Also, while many baby boomers could enter the workforce from high school, or attend university or college without accruing high levels of debt, milliennials are burdened with extremely high levels of student debt. So rather than being lazy or fickle, millennials are a product of economic forces and public policy changes that have greatly inhibited their short-term and longer-term career outcomes.