Washington - The United
States has enjoyed extraordinary economic
progress over the past four decades, but average incomes for today's young
workers are lower than they were in 1975.
Over the past four decades, young American workers saw their
average incomes decline by 5.5 percent after adjusting for inflation, according
to new figures published last Wednesday by the US Census Bureau. In 1975, workers
aged 25 to 34 had a median personal income of $37 000 in modern dollar terms.
In 2016, that number was down to $35 000.
Earnings have declined despite the fact that today's young
people are better educated than 40 years ago. Thirty-seven percent of young
people had a bachelor's degree last year, compared to 22.8 percent in 1975.
In part, experts say, the decline in average incomes results
from new impediments to financial success that confront millennial, but that
older Americans did not have to overcome. A more unequal economy presents fewer
opportunities for younger workers. Young people today must compete with a well
educated labour force, while young people in the past often had an advantage
over older workers who were less qualified.
In another sense, the decline represents progress, because
it is partly a result of striking gains among young women. Young women have
joined the workforce in high numbers, but because they still earn less than
young men, their entrance has driven down the average for young workers in
general. In 1975, just under half of women aged 25 to 34 were working, and only
18.4 percent had at least a bachelor's degree. In 2016, about 70 percent of
women between those ages were employed, and 40 percent had at least a
bachelor's degree.
The typical income for a young woman in the labour force
increased 28.5 percent since 1975, from $23 000 to $29 000 in 2015 dollars. Meanwhile,
young men's earnings have declined. For a man in the labour force aged 25 to
34, the typical income declined from $46 000 in 1975 to $40 000 last years.
Young men are also more educated, 34 percent now have a
bachelor's degree, compared to 27.4 percent of their counterparts 40 years ago.
Last year, roughly 5 in 6 were working and two-thirds had full-time, year-round
jobs, figures that have changed little since 1975.
undefined"It's hard to say that there's one experience for young
adults that's capturing how they're all doing," said the Census's Jonathan
Vespa, the author of the report.
The stagnant fortunes of young people come amid broad
overall gains for the American since 1975. Median personal income for all
Americans has increased from about $23 000 in 1975 to $30 000 today in 2015
dollars.
Read also: What's the cause of the gender wage gap?
Data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics on those with
full-time, year-round work confirms the negative trend for the young. Typical
weekly earnings for workers aged 25 to 34 in this category have declined 4
percent between 1979 and last year after adjusting for inflation, according to
Arloc Sherman, a researcher at the liberal Centre on Budget and Policy
Priorities.
Gary Burtless, an economist at the nonpartisan Brookings
Institution, suggested a few explanations for the disappointing data for young
people. The level of education in the American labor force was rapidly
increasing in 1975.
While it was typical for older workers at that time not to
have completed high school, a new generation the baby boomers - had received
what Americans now think of as a standard education, including a high-school
diploma and increasingly a bachelor's degree.
As a result, young people could claim more of the fruits of
the American economy then. "Compared to older workers, back then, they at
least had a couple of very strong advantages," Burtless said. "Those
advantages are smaller for young adults today."
At the same time, he said, inequality of income has
increased in general in the American economy, meaning that poorer workers -
many of whom are younger have not enjoyed the same progress as more affluent
workers, who tend to be older.
"It's a big problem, even for people with college
credentials," he said. "Those less educated people have fared quite
miserably."