NYC Millennials Earn 20 Percent Less, Have More Debt Than Previous Generations
If you were born between 1985 and 1996 and live in New York City, there’s a good chance you’re struggling. The Wall Street Journal looked at a report from city Comptroller Scott Stringer that examined the effects of the recession on millennials, which found they earn about 20 percent less than previous generations of their counterparts. Furthermore, the report says the economy has left this group with “greater debt than their parents” and “fewer high-wage job opportunities even as the cost of housing in the city has risen.”
Accounting for inflation, the report says the average 23-year-old in New York City earned $23,543 in 2014, compared with $27,731 in 2000. For 29-year-olds, the average was $50,331 in 2014 and $56,026 in 2000. These disparities are especially concerning considering one in five city residents is a millennial, and these people are more educated than those in 2000. Looking at debt, city residents under age 30 collectively owe $14 billion in student loans, a number that has been increasing by ten percent since 2005.
According to Stringer: “Millennials were applying for jobs in the most difficult economic climate since the Great Depression. Every generation is expected to do better than the last, but too many millennials are not getting a fair chance to make it here in New York City.”
[Via WSJ]
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