http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/thirty-good-job-still-living-at-home-lifes-a-breeze-20120220-1tjl2.html
It’s the same criticism again and again; that young people are staying home, instead of saving and moving out. That young people are lazy or entitled and would rather party and spend their cash than work hard and be independent. But what this and many articles like it fail to realise is that the workforce and the economy have changed significantly since the parents of these allegedly carefree Generation Y were of a similar age.
For starters, there is the looming spectre of housing costs - especially house prices. In June 2011 the median house price in Sydney was $595 000, compared to 10 years ago when it was $393, 500. Buying a house on a moderate income has become increasingly difficult and many young people feel that it is beyond their grasp.
According to the ABS:
The proportion of homes sold that were affordable to moderate income households declined from 36% in 2003-04 to 27% in 2007-08. The number of homes sold that were affordable by moderate income households declined from 24 homes per 1,000 moderate income households in 2003-04 to 17 homes per 1,000 households in 2007-08.
1370.0 - Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010. Australian Bureau of Statistics.
However, more concerning than not being able to afford to own your home is the increasing insecurity young people are facing at work. The
ACTU’s Working Australia Census results show how young people are bearing the brunt of the growth in insecure working arrangements. Of the total Census sample, 14.2% of respondents were working in insecure or non-permanent arrangements and of this group close to a third were aged under 35.
Of those Census respondents aged under 25, 41.6% were working in some form of non-permanent work, compared to 11.6% for those aged over 35. That means that young workers were close to four times more likely to be in insecure arrangements.
This increased likelihood of working in non-permanent arrangements has serious flow-on effects for young people. Without permanent ongoing employment, securing a lease becomes more difficult.The Howe
Inquiry into Insecure Work now underway has been told securing a car loan is difficult if not impossible for those who do not have job security. There are also a significant health and well-being costs to working in non-permanent arrangements, as one respondent told the ACTU:
I work in three different casual jobs, two of which are through different labour hire companies. Some weeks I work nearly 60hrs, others only 7.5hrs or not at all. I enjoy construction work, yet local builders only want workers on ABNs which I refuse because it’s illegal and immoral… I might have very slow weeks but I’m exhausted and my health is suffering from the constant stress of uncertainty. I recently injured myself outside of work and have no sick leave. Once I recover I fear that declaring an injury will mean I’m discriminated against when applying for jobs. Queensland is meant to be booming but it certainly isn’t for me.
One of the most difficult barriers that young people face today is attitude. Combating the views that young people are unreliable, lazy or entitled is extremely difficult. What would be more useful than having yet another article using anecdotes and no evidence to pigeon hole young people, is for some light to be shined on the difficulties facing young people as they struggle to be independent while facing increasingly costs and decreasing security.
Rhiannon Carter is ACTU strategic research analyst
R@W News is a forum for news, analysis and commentary about rights at work and related issues. The opinions presented in R@W News are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent policies or views of the ACTU.