They live in their parents’ basement, they work part-time or are underemployed, and they’re paying off student loans well into their 30s.
All those stories about the younger generation are often true, says a report from the Conference Board of Canada. For the first time, the generation now aged 25 to 29 risks being poorer than their parents.
The Bucks Stop Here focuses on the income gaps between older and younger generations based on an analysis of Canada Revenue Agency tax data from 1984 to 2010.
Researchers found the average disposable income of Canadians between the ages of 50 and 54 is now 64% higher than that of 25- to 29-year-olds, up from 47% in the mid-1980s.
While the income gap between men and women was narrowing over the last 30 years, the gap between older and younger generations has widened significantly.
The income gap for women expanded more quickly than for men, from just nine per cent in 1984 to 43% in 2010. That difference is complicated by the enormous increase of women in the workplace in the same period and the gains in income for women as they moved into higher paying fields.
For men, the gap between younger and older generations expanded from 53 per cent to 71 per cent. That difference reflects the poor work prospects for younger men.
As the baby boom generation moves into retirement, Canadians will be relying on a smaller share of the population to sustain the tax base that supports public services such as health care.
Canada therefore needs average employment incomes to rise, not fall behind, experts from the Conference Board say.
