‘Decline or delay?': Unique struggle facing young Aussies

News.com.au

5 days ago

For much of Australia's history, each new generation has been better off than the last: better jobs, higher incomes, and improved living standards.
But a new e61 Institute report reveals that promise may now be in doubt.
The report found that young Australians were barely earning more than their predecessors yet were racking up markedly larger student debts and taking years longer to pay them off.
Real average incomes for 30-year-olds increased just 6 per cent in a decade, from $59,496
in 2012 to $62,987 in 2022. Meanwhile, the average HELP debt jumped by 45 per cent, from $19,485 to $28,260, the analysis of tax return data found.
The average age of final HELP repayment also rose from 33 in 2012 to 35 in 2022.
The percentage of 30-year-olds with a HELP debt increased from 15 per cent to 23 per cent,
The report said the story of young Australians today may not necessarily be one of decline but rather of delay.
'It is still unclear how many of these patterns will evolve. The challenge for policymakers is distinguishing between whether young Australians are reaching major life milestones – like moving out of home, starting families, and buying a home – later than prior generations, not reaching them at all, or changing their preferences,' it said.
e61 Institute research economist Matthew Maltman said the intergenerational compact's growing disparity had its roots in the global financial crisis of 2008. Since then the wages of workers under 40 have grown at less than half the rate of older Australians.
'Some explanations include rising underemployment, a shift toward insecure and lower-paying
service jobs, award decisions, and an oversupply of workers relative to available high-quality
jobs – driven in part by older Australians working longer – which weakened bargaining power
and suppressed wage growth,' he said.
'Rising employer concentration and a decline in job mobility may also have weakened young
workers' ability to climb the job ladder and move into higher-paying positions.'
The report stated that young Australians now had access to opportunities that were not available to their parents and grandparents.
'Today, they are achieving more in education, earning more in their early career stages, and participating in the labour market in new ways,' it said.
'Young people have also benefited from technological advancements, including greater access to information through the internet, improvements in the availability of digital goods and cheaper consumer goods.
'Whether young Australians will be better of than previous generations remains an open question,
'It depends, in part, on the choices policymakers make today. In the past, productivity growth has been the surest way to lift living standards for all and maintain the intergenerational bargain.
'However, Australia's recent lacklustre productivity performance means that policymakers cannot take for granted that the standard intergenerational pattern of improvement will operate as well as before.'