Employees born in the late 1990s earn more on average than their predecessors at the same age. This is evident from a study by the British think tank Resolution Foundation. But there are also economic headwinds.
Source: The Guardian
Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, earns more at the start of their careers than their predecessors, the millennials. This is evident from new figures from the British think tank Resolution Foundation. The youngest generation is experiencing a small increase in wages, which is a striking contrast to the way the previous generation entered the labor market.
Upward trend
Millennials, born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s, are the first generation to have a lower income at the start of their career than previous generations. Although the think tank does add an important caveat to this, as millennials started their careers in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
“The stagnation in living standards for this generation has been well documented over the past decade,” said Charlie McCurdy, economist at Resolution Foundation. “Many speculated that this decline would continue with Generation Z.” But the numbers now show the opposite. “Now that the oldest members of Generation Z have been working for several years, the good news is that their wages have seen a small rebound.”
Economic uncertainty looms
The research shows that the real weekly wage of an average 24-year-old is about 12 percent higher than that of generations born in the late 1980s. This means that Gen Z earns more at that age than any other generation, going back to the 1950s.
According to the report, the lowest-paid received the biggest pay increases thanks to the increase in the minimum wage, especially since 2016. Their wages increased by 36 percent between 2012 and 2025. Workers between 22 and 29 years old with an average income saw their hourly wages increase by 15 percent in the same period, compared to 4 percent for people in their thirties.
But the study also warns that the “good news for Generation Z is already under pressure” as real wages may fall due to higher prices and weaker economic growth, mainly in Britain, due to the war in the Middle East.
