A new survey has confirmed that fewer and fewer people from the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts are having children, and there’s a “frightening” reason for this.
More than half of people aged 18 to 34 are opting not to have children due to financial challenges, according to data recently released by the Australian research company Red Bridge.
Of the young people choosing not to have children, 35% have a university degree and 33% earn more than $2,000 a week.
Just under half do not own their own home.
Kos Samaras, director of Red Bridge, said the survey is a sign of the times and that young people are financially constrained to the point where they can’t even consider bringing children into the equation.
“For the amount that young people have to pay in mortgages or rent, they also have student loan debts and often live beyond their means,” he told news.com.au.
“For previous generations, it took until their 30s to achieve financial security, and for Generation Z and Millennials, that will only happen in their 40s,” he emphasized.
It’s worth noting that Generation Z consists of individuals born between 1997 and 2012, who are currently aged between 12 and 27. Millennials are those born between 1981 and 1996, who are now aged 28 to 43.
Ultimately, Samaras said, young people are not being dramatic by not starting families; in fact, they are being sensible because financially it could harm them.
The high cost of living crisis also means that young people rely on two incomes to manage the mortgage or rent. Two incomes mean more hours worked. Where do you find time to raise children with two or more jobs?
The majority of couples depend on both incomes to support the family, which is very different from previous generations, where it was much more common to have one parent at home and the other working.
Source: The New York Post