Young adults in the UK are facing a more difficult start to adulthood than any generation in nearly half a century, according to analysis carried out for BBC News.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies examined UK data on housing, employment and wealth, comparing people aged 25 across generations from the early 1980s. The analysis found that more than 40% of 25-year-olds now live with their parents, while home ownership among that age group has fallen sharply.
According to the figures, the share of 25-year-olds owning a home has dropped from 43% in the mid-1980s to 15% today. The proportion living with parents has risen from 25% in the 1990s to 42%.
The BBC reported that housing costs for renters and mortgage holders in their 20s are at their highest recorded level for this age group and take up a larger share of income than they did for older generations at the same stage of life.
Employment has also weakened for this generation of young adults. Among women aged 25, employment has fallen from 77% a decade ago to 71%. For men aged 25, the rate has declined from 84% to 76%.
The analysis also points to stalled wage growth. While 25-year-olds in work generally earn more than their parents did at the same age, progress has slowed after strong gains from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Adjusted for inflation, wages for 25-year-olds are now only just above £28,000.
Jonathan Cribb, deputy director of the IFS, told the BBC: “The big picture is stagnation.” He said the issue was not that this group was necessarily worse off than all previous cohorts, but that progress had halted.
The BBC also reported accounts from young adults and their parents describing the pressures of living at home, struggling to find work and coping with rent and bills. Interviewees included 26-year-old Adam Daytona, who moved back in with his parents, and 25-year-old Daisy Edwards, who returned to her family home in Guildford after losing her job in London.
