Millennials are Hurting the Economy – Why?
I’m a Millennial, a generation Y-er. I’m one of the 70 million people between the ages of 18-35. I’m defined by my use of the internet for information and communication. But I’m also defined as being 68% less wealth than people of my demographic in 1984.
Yahoo Finance shared this article a couple of weeks ago about how the entertainment and retail industries are suffering because of a lack of wealth in my demographic. It’s true; more and more people in this age group have moved back home. Single people are more likely to have roommates or housemates.
Not only that, but my generation is picky as all get out, and less likely to be loyal to brands. What gets my generation to buy stuff? Price. Hey, that sounds familiar. I’m a bargain shopper; I only buy stuff if and when it’s on sale. I make excuses to wait otherwise. Some millennials can’t even afford basic toiletries.
Why is this happening? What is going on that millenials can barely get their bills paid, thus resulting in them hurting the economy more than it is?
- We’re a target audience. Millennials hurt the economy because a lot of companies want our dollars. They target us in advertising. Now, I mentioned above that my generation buys stuff because it’s on sale. If companies have to continually put stuff on sale in order for people to buy it, then the profit that they were going to make on those items is diminished. Sure, companies are still making money, but not as much. The industry hurting the most? Apparel.
- College debt. College debt is killing the millennials. College has become the norm instead of the exception; the exception comes in when people pursue a Master’s or higher. This has caught the attention of some students, and they continue going to school until 26 or later (myself included- I’m working on my second Master’s degree at age 27!). This debt is horrible, and instead of putting new money into the economy, students like myself are having to pay off college debt first.
-Job issues: Outsourcing and specializations. I know, I’ve blamed a lot of things on outsourcing, but it’s true. Entry-level jobs are hard to find because it’s cheaper to outsource them. I can have all the education I want, but it doesn’t make up for the experience I couldn’t get because the jobs simply aren’t there. The other issue is the need for a specialized degree in order to do the job. It’s been confirmed that there are almost as many jobs as there are people in the US, but many of the open positions available require some sort of advanced degree.
So, this new generation of 18-34 year olds is suffering. What do you think we can do to fix it? What can be done to help this generation get on their feet and help with an economic upswing? Leave your thoughts in the comments, have a great weekend, and until next week, spend smart, save smart!
