Generation Y was brought up being promised everything, but may well end up with nothing.
We were brought up in a world of cheap credit, where spending money you didn’t have was encouraged. Generation Y as a result is criticised for being a frivolous spend thrifts with their multiple maxed out credit cards, but we didn’t really mind: debt had lost its stigma, because everyone was doing it. Besides, we were told that if we got ourselves into even more debt by going to university, we would be able to secure a job so that we could live a life, content in the black.
But those promised jobs have evaporated. Today, graduate unemployment is 14% (well above the UK average of 8%), with 69 applicants to every graduate post. On top of that, over three quarters of graduate employers are no longer accepting applicants with a 2.2 or less, which cuts out 40% of graduates. This is not good news for a cohort, which currently has just student debts of £30,000.
Right now, however, this doesn’t seem to faze many of us. A recent report by RetailForward and PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that the rebuilding of the economy is primarily reliant on the continued spending of Generations X and Y, as Boomers are not spending; rather they are saving for their impending retirement. Most of Generation X has established careers and is spending to support growing families, but fritter-friendly Generation Y hasn’t even made it to the first rung.
That the growth of the economy relies on the increasing debt of an unemployed generation spells big, big trouble for not only Generation Y, but to the economy as a whole. What happens when the banks catch up with us, when everyone realises that the economy is being powered by money which doesn’t exist? I think we know what will happen. In the pursuit to cut costs, businesses and governments around the world have established the foundations for a repeat of the Great Recession. And it will be at the expense of Generation Y.
