Why today's youth failing to find steady jobs and live independently

A new study has explained why youngsters are unable to find full-time jobs and live without the help of their parents, asserting that these changes can be traced to global economic and demographic shifts beginning in the 1980's

IIASA population expert Vegard Skirbekk said that young adults are doing increasingly worse economically, in spite of living in wealthy regions of the world at the same time, older adult age groups have been doing increasingly better.

Skirbekk, along with IIASA researchers Warren Sanderson and Marcin Stonawski conducted the study in order to examine the common factors that help young people transition to adulthood. They call the problem, "Young Adult Failure to Thrive Syndrome."

The study finds that failure to thrive can be tied to three major economic factors worldwide. First, an increasingly globalized labor force means that workers can move more easily between countries. Second, education levels have soared around the world, meaning many more workers are available for skilled positions. Third, more women have joined the labor force. All these factors mean more competition for jobs, particularly for young people who have little practical experience.

In addition to changes in labor supply, technological changes have both created and destroyed jobs, with a trend towards fewer industrial jobs and more service sector jobs.

Sanderson said that these changes mean that even as economic conditions have improved for some in the population, young people are worse off today than they were 20 years ago.

The researchers say that such economic disadvantages also have an effect on demographic questions such as fertility rates and family formation, as many young people cannot afford to start families until later in life.

The study is published in the Finnish Yearbook of Population Research.