07 May 2024
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Yes, that’s right, i young have been, from 2000 onwards, the big losers of the war against the low growth, stagnation and recessions that have characterized the Italian economy. The income of those under 35 years old rose less than that of those belonging to other age groups and in some moments it even fell. As a result, our country is among those where kids they live longer at home with their parents.
But all this doesn’t mean that anyone under 35 can’t think about your future by investing. Indeed, the reasons why they should be the ones to do it, more than others, are infinitely more numerous than those of other generations and one of these is that since resources are scarce they cannot be wasted, perhaps by stuffing them under the mattress as the grandparents and many boomer parents. And let’s also add some good news: data in hand we can perhaps express a little optimism, the future of young people today could be a little less clouded than 10 or 20 years ago. Let’s see why.
The incomes of the youngest, a not definitive story of a decline
Let’s go in order. As can be seen in our graph, the median income of households in which the main earner is under 35 years old rose very little in the 18 years examined by Istat, from 2003 to 2021, i.e. only by 3.19%: from 23,584 to 24,336 euros, therefore much less than inflation. Meanwhile the incomes of the families of 35-44 year olds between 2003 and 2021 they grew by 16.29%, those of 45-54 year olds by 8.21%, while those of 55-64 year olds they rose by 32.6%, above all because many end-of-career workers with higher salaries were concentrated within them. If in 2011 their incomes were less than a thousand euros higher than those of the under 35s, in 2021 the gap has become as much as 8,151 euros. The greatest increase, however, was that of households in which the main earner is those who have 65 years or older: their annual income, although remaining low (in the vast majority of cases they are pensioners), has risen by as much as 58.31%.
But, here’s the news, starting from 2018, when the incomes of the youngest reached a minimum, the trend has reversed and salaries have grown as much as and more than those of other age groups, rising, in fact, by just under 7% until 2021, more than the average.
The consumption of young couples is growing more than others
A reflection of this data can be found in average family consumption. The spending of under 35s living as a couple (but still without children) has seen a significant increase, to the point that in 2022 it was 8% higher than average, while in the past it had been similar or even lower than that of the family average. It means that in recent years those in their thirties, i.e. those who have begun to form families, have had more resources to spend.
Certainly the great has something to do with it increase in employmentwhich for the first time in decades affected young people much more than other age groups: if between 2018 and 2023 the employment rate of Italians between 15 and 64 years old grew by three points (from 58.5 % to 61.5%) that of those who have between 18 and 29 years old increased by as much as 5.1% (from 37.9% to 43%), while for the segment of 25-34 year olds by as much as 6.2% (from 61.9% to 68.1%). The increase in employment, among other things, has affected women in particular, which is why the growth in consumption of young couples: it is increasingly frequent that let two people work.
More young people with a salary, therefore. Which, however, is almost all spent and, since the savings are not abundant, must be managed even more carefully than their parents did.
More educated and aware savers and investors
But young people know this, given that they are under 35 more educated than their parents and more of them know the dynamics of the economy. In 2022, 30-34 year olds with a university degree were 27.4%, still few, true, but many more than the 8.6% in 1992, thirty years, i.e. a generation, earlier. And they know that 10 thousand euros put under the mattress in 2013 have become, in real terms, 8,150 euros ten years later, while the same 10 thousand invested, for example, in MSCI WORLD (the index that includes the largest 1,600 global stocks) have transformed into a capital of 19,079 euros at the end of 2023. In essence, those who have been stopped have reduced their assets and now find themselves with a capital that is much less than half of what they would have in hand by investing in the world economy. Try to imagine putting aside even a small sum per month for every year for 10 years and that’s it.
But most of all, young graduates work much more: the employment rate of 25-34 year old graduates has gone up significantly 6.4% between 2018 and 2023 despite the fact that it was already higher than average at the start, reaching 74%, while the overall figure grew, as mentioned, by 3%.
It is probably also due to greater education that, according to the 2023 Doxa Edufin report, those aged between 18 and 34 also have a greater appetite for riskof 4.84, compared to 3.40 (on a scale from 1 to 10) in the over 65 segment. And then, ultimately, it is age itself that pushes young people to look to the future with greater attention, always according to Doxa only 14% of 18-34 year olds have no medium-long term financial goals, compared to the average 27.1%. After all, what is young people’s greatest asset, if not their future?
